Episode description

In February of 2017, ICE agents arrested Estrella, an undocumented trans woman, inside an El Paso courthouse. Estrella was there after filing for a protective order, testifying in a domestic abuse hearing against her U.S. citizen ex-boyfriend. Her case became national news — it was the first time that federal immigration agents had ever arrested someone at court. Estrella was later sentenced to serve nine years behind bars for a non-violent crime that she has always maintained her abuser forced her to participate in. In this episode of Latino USA Estrella takes us into the maximum-security Texas men's prison where she is serving out her sentence. Through intimate phone conversation with Maria Hinojosa, we follow Estrella through her first years of incarceration — through the joys of transitioning and finally feeling at home in her body, to the dangers that come from being a woman in one of Texas' most infamous men's prisons. We also learn about a surprising accusation that puts Estrella's relationship with Maria at risk.