Congressman Raul Grijalva is sounding the alarm on the dangers facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youths who are in U.S. custody after being apprehended when they entered the country without documentation. Here’s the press release from Grijalva’s office:
Today, Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) led 59 House Democrats in sending a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell expressing concern over the lack of adequate protection against discrimination and sexual assault for unaccompanied minors in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The lawmakers urge HHS to implement robust Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) regulations alongside guidance to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth from discrimination.
“The unaccompanied minors seeking shelter here risked life and limb to escape violence and poverty in Central America,” said Rep. Grijalva. “Too often, they find themselves exposed to new threats of discrimination and sexual assault once they’re here. These attacks are completely preventable with adequate protections, and HHS has the moral responsibility to ensure those precautions are in place.”
The letter, which particularly focuses on LGBT youths, reads in part:
While less than 10 percent of the general youth population identifies as LGBT, they account for approximately 19 percent of children in foster care and an estimated 15 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system. Data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicates that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth in juvenile correctional facilities are almost twice as likely to experience sexual victimization as their heterosexual counterparts. Furthermore, research shows that many of the facilities which ORR contracts to provide care for unaccompanied minors are located in states without adequate protections for LGBT youth.
“We’re talking about protecting kids who are being specifically targeted because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Grijalva continued. “LGBT youths must receive affirming and culturally competent care. They deserve the dignity of housing assignments consistent with their gender identity, and adequate preventative and response measures to keep them safe from harm. These kids have traveled thousands of miles in search of safety — allowing them to be victimized once they’re in U.S. custody is completely unacceptable. I urge Secretary Burwell to take the steps necessary to keep these kids safe.”
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2014.
Does he have a history of this same fear in the juvenile justice system for American youth?
If he cared about his constituants half as much as he does about ILLEGALS, we’d all be better off.
I really WISH this “mexican” would just GO back to Mexico.. because he’s for ANYONE but US. .and Yeah.. Im an American of Mexican Descent… and so TIRED of “El Jeffe Grijalva” and his horrible representation of Americans. But, let an illegal, or a thug, or a “gay person” show up and MAN he’s on his knees..
This traitorous POS will support illegal homosexuals and then sends millions of tax $ to the Taliban for medical supplies so that they can heal up and get back out on the battlefield to kill our soldiers. Grijalva is as bad or worse than the Muslim lover in the Wh.
when it comes to selling our our country! When the SHTF, he needs to have a “come to Jesus type meeting” with some of our patriots! Not even his Mex. cartel paid for security will be able to stop that from happening!!
My goodness – aren’t we all crabby this morning?
Nice to know, though, that the 4 comments above do not represent a majority point of view in this wonderful nation where the protection of minorities remains supreme.
Margo. You’d be crabby too if you had the brains to realize that morons like Raul and Obummer are going to bury this once wonderful country with their socialist policies. Illegal has nothing to do with minorities.
Hyperbole much, CW?
Only when I read comments from dead from the neck up people like Margo or you.
No, Raul the stool would much prefer to bring over gay illegals with all of the their Chagas Disease, Chickengunya, Whooping Cough and a myriad of other diseases to spread amongst real Americans. it was just on the news today that they have Whooping Cough spreading amongst the illegal youth that Grijalva supported bringing over last summer, in the shelter here in Tucson. Now our children get to suffer so that these libtarded POS can say how concerned they are for the poor little kids from Central America.
Once they got mandated health care the POTUS opened the flood gates. All benefits are now in place to financially destroy America.
46,000,000 on food stamps. And I thought he was going to “create ” jobs.
He did. At the food stamp printing shop .
Thanks. Sadly it’s the truth.