Dear John,

My name is Chin Tsui. I am a trans man from Hong Kong. Thanks to your support, I was freed from a migrant prison on March 10, just one day before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.  

Before I was released, I believe there were already six units with eighty people in each unit quarantined due to illness. I can’t stress enough how people who are detained are in great danger of losing their lives. Today, I wholeheartedly support Transgender Law Center’s recently announced class action lawsuit to free transgender migrants. 

Lynly Egyes, legal director of TLC, and Chin Tsui standing side by side smiling on the day of his release. 

As guidance from health professionals tells us to wash our hands and keep distance from others, that is impossible for detainees. Even staff of these facilities don’t have proper hygiene equipment. These facilities are designed to endanger our lives. I couldn’t even call my family without risking infection by using the facility’s phone.  

Living in detention is painful enough as it is. I was depressed and for nineteen months, I was in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day solely because I’m trans. Sometimes, I didn’t leave my cell during the one hour they let me out because I was so hopeless. All of my existing health conditions like my hormone therapy, diabetes, and high blood pressure were often neglected to the point where I was sent to an emergency room at one point. I can’t even imagine the additional fear of having COVID-19. 

I’ve witnessed too many transgender people pass away in my lifetime from this society’s neglect. I beg you to support our campaign to free transgender migrants in this horrible time, so there will be no more deaths. You can start by joining TLC’s virtual gathering today at 4pm PT / 7pm ET on Facebook live, which will discuss the class action lawsuit and hold space for trans and queer migrants to offer a message of hope.

Chin Tsui