Lesly Martinez Gonzalez has been waiting about six months to seek asylum in the United States. Originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, she found a temporary refuge in Casita de U.T., a Tijuana shelter that supports trans women.
While she’s waiting for an appointment in the CBP One application, which can take days or months depending on an individual’s luck in the roulette-style system, she has received much more than a roof over her head and food from Casita. There trans women can participate in a variety of activities meant to help them process some of the violence they have experienced, gain new skills and empower themselves to live the lives that they want.
“The girls don’t know how to heal from the violence they’ve lived through,” Susy Barrales, shelter director and long-time trans activist in Tijuana, said in Spanish. “The goal is to give them a different option for life.”
Recently, Lesly and several of her peers participated in a six-week photography workshop led by photographer Alexa Macias that culminated in an exhibition called “Miradas en (tráns)ito II” at Tijuana’s Teorema tap room on Avenida Revolución.
The photographs hanging on the wall in the upstairs seating area of the cervecería ranged from Tijuana street life to an intimate shot of fingers holding a piece of grass, and from unique angles of a church framed by leafy fronds to a dramatically lit portrait of a woman laughing joyfully.
The women used disposable cameras to take the pictures with Macias guiding them in form and technique for different types of photos.
Lesly said she tried to find unexpected perspectives for the pictures she took for the exhibit.
“There are different ways of seeing paths, but you can get to the same place,” she said.
For Barrales, part of the power of the exhibition was in putting the women’s names and their art on the wall where the public could see them.
“It’s time for us to not be limited,” she said. “We keep taking up public space.”
Several of the photographs in the exhibition have already sold, going for $300 pesos each. Though the exhibition ended its run last week, the remaining photographs are still for sale, and those interested can contact Barrales for more information, she said. The proceeds go to each photographer, but some have chosen to donate their money to Casita de U.T.
Al Otro Lado, a legal services nonprofit that supports asylum seekers in Tijuana, helped bring the workshop to the shelter.
Brigitte Lujano, the LGBTQ+ project coordinator for Al Otro Lado, said the point of the workshop was not simply to pass the time while the women are waiting for their appointments but rather to empower the women to tell their stories from their perspectives.
“There’s a stereotype that trans women are only good for sex work,” Lujano said. “This exhibition tells society that isn’t true. All we need is a little bit of empowerment.”
She said trans women struggle because they’re not given opportunities to discover their talents or grow skills. In Mexico, many are forced into sex work because employers refuse to hire them.
“Our self esteem has been so broken,” she said. “We sometimes think we’re not worth it.”
Lujano was once an asylum seeker hoping to request protection in the United States. While she waited in Tijuana during the pandemic, she began volunteering with Al Otro Lado. Through that organization, she found a new path – advocating for and supporting women like her.
Trans women have long fled Central America and Mexico with the hopes of finding greater safety in the United States. Casita de U.T. is just one example of the network built by trans women to support each other on that route, which often culminates in New York City where activist Jessica Guaman assists new arrivals in getting on their feet.
Lesly said what she dreams of for her new life in the United States is freedom.
“Above all, to have rights because we’re all equal,” she said. “I don’t want to be judged or called out. I want to be free.”
In Other News
No place to go: Harbor Police told asylum-seeking families who were living at Cesar Chavez Park that they have to leave or they face potential arrest as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to remove homeless encampments from public property. I spoke with several families last week for Voice of San Diego. They’ve been staying in a hotel for the past week, but it’s not clear where they will go after tomorrow. There are also several asylum-seeking adults who don’t have their families with them who remain unsheltered at the park.
Fewer street releases: KPBS’ Gustavo Solis reported that Border Patrol agents have been dropping off fewer migrants at San Diego trolley stops in recent weeks. While border crossings locally appear to be decreasing for the moment, migration in the hemisphere is not, Solis reports.
An agency with “no boundaries”: Mother Jones’ September/October edition is dedicated to a deep dive into the U.S. Border Patrol as the agency celebrates its 100 year anniversary. Among the collection of stories is a piece from Erin Siegal McIntyre about a rape at a Border Patrol training facility and the agency culture that has allowed agents who commit these types of crimes to remain in the force.
A fatal fall: inewsource’s Sofía Mejías-Pascoe reported on video footage of a woman who in March fell to her death from the top of the 30-foot border wall as Border Patrol agents watched from below. The woman spent 24 minutes at the top of the wall before she fell, and an agent led emergency responders to the wrong location, Mejías-Pascoe found. San Diego’s trauma centers have reported an increase in injuries and deaths since the Trump administration increased the size of the wall.
New rules for dogs: The United States has changed the rules for crossing the border with your dog, according to Alexandra Mendoza of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Binational design capital: The World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 “Exchange” Pavilion will open in Balboa Park on Aug. 17 with a celebration from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Thank you for reading. I’m open for tips, suggestions and feedback on Instagram @katemorrisseyjournalist and on X/Twitter @bgirledukate.
Correction: This post has been updated to correct that proceeds from the exhibit go to each photographer. Some have chosen to donate that money to Casita de U.T.
So where is this going? We should take in every trans person on earth?