""A few days before my court date, friends warned me not to appear because people were being picked up," said Rivers. "But I wanted to do things right. I knew if I didn't show up, I could get an automatic deportation order. So I went to court with my lawyer.""
""On June 26, just a day after being named runner-up at the 30th Annual Miss & Mr. Safe Latino pageant created by Instituto Familiar de la Raza in response to the HIV epidemic, Rivers was detained by ICE outside of immigration court.""
""Officers asked my name. I stayed quiet. My lawyer also didn't answer. They seemed to understand I was the person they wanted." said Rivers. "They grabbed me, pushed me against the wall, and shackled me. My lawyer tried to intervene, but they pushed him aside. They put my hands and feet in chains. I've never been arrested before. It was terrifying.""
Hilary Rivers fled Central America after surviving an assassination attempt and repeated attacks for being openly gay. Rivers entered the United States in 2023 seeking asylum, moved to San Francisco for work and acceptance, and won runner-up at a community pageant. On June 26, during an immigration check-in after a judge delayed her case, ICE detained her outside the court. Rivers described officers grabbing, shackling, and pushing her lawyer aside, and experiencing violence in detention. After a long legal fight she was granted asylum on September 20 and released from ICE custody, returning home to San Francisco.
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