The Supreme Court is set to hear the case of a biological man who identifies as a woman contesting a decision by the Biden administration to deport him Tuesday.
The Biden administration claims that Leon Santos-Zacaria has not exhausted “all administrative remedies available” before appealing their immigration decision. The case will consider whether illegal immigrants must petition the Board of Immigration Appeals before seeking redress in the federal court of appeals. (RELATED: Proposed Bill Would Make Bringing Child To Drag Show A Misdemeanor)
Santos-Zacaria, 34, was deported to his home country of Guatemala in 2008 and 2012, but still returned to America in 2018. Santos-Zacaria is seeking protection under the Immigration and Nationality Act over alleged risk of persecution for his transgender identification.
SCOTUS will hear an immigration case on January 17, 2023, Santos-Zacaria v. Garland.
The case involves the issue of administrative exhaustion. SCOTUS will determine whether a transgender asylum seeker had to file a motion to reconsider a denial before seeking judicial review.
— Matthew Kolken (@mkolken) January 9, 2023
Although Santos-Zacaria claims to have suffered persecution for being gay as a youth in Guatemala, he has previously said under questioning that some cities in Guatemala may be more accepting of his transgender identity.
President Joe Biden has cast himself as an ally of the transgender community, even coming out in favor of children receiving irreversible sex change treatments in October. Biden’s Department of Health and Human Services has also moved to interpret certain sections of the Affordable Care Act to force insurance providers to pay for sex change treatments. In November, a judge reversed an HHS rule that interpreted Title IX to prohibit doctors from refusing to perform sex change surgeries.