Trans Queer Pueblo is an immigration advocacy group based in Phoenix, Arizona that provides health and wellness services for migrants who identify as LGBT and transgender while providing gender transition and hormone therapy clinics. It also claims to offer programs that provide transgender exploration for migrant children. ¹

In 2017 and 2018, Trans Queer Pueblo activists organized protests of Phoenix’s Pride parade hosted by the nonprofit group Phoenix Pride, forming a blockade that had to be removed by police. ² Members of the group told the Arizona Republic that they protested they event due to its police presence and further claimed Phoenix Pride does not address white supremacy. ³

Background

Trans Queer Pueblo is an immigration advocacy group based in Phoenix, Arizona that provides health and wellness services for migrants who identify as LGBT and transgender. ⁴ It is a membership-based organization, and as of December 2024, it claimed over 300 members. ⁵

Opposition to Phoenix Pride

In 2017, Trans Queer Pueblo was invited to participate in Phoenix’s Pride parade hosted by Phoenix Pride but criticized Border Patrol agents and local police being present at the event. As a result, activists with the group formed a blockade to protest the parade that was removed by police. ²

According to reporting from the Arizona Republic, activists with the group claimed their blockade was due to the police presence at the parade, with Trans Queer Pueblo organizer Dagoberto Bailon claiming that police and Border Patrol cause ethnic minorities to “live with police violence” and be subjected to deportation. ⁶

In 2018, Trans Queer Pueblo hosted its own Pride-related event, “LGBTQ Justice Week,” to protest events planned by Phoenix Pride. Trans Queer Pueblo claimed that Phoenix Pride excludes and discriminates against ethnic minority and immigrant members of the LGBT community. The event also criticized the enforcement of immigration laws, claiming that “internalized racism” within Phoenix Pride had caused discrimination against ethnic minorities at its events. ³

Following its LGBTQ Justice Week in 2018, Trans Queer Pueblo protested Phoenix’s Pride Parade for that year with another blockade. It was removed by local authorities. ²

Gender Transition Clinic

In Phoenix, Trans Queer Pueblo operates “Clinica Liberacion,” or “Liberation Clinic,” that claims to provide free hormone therapy and primary care services for transgender “undocumented and migrant patients.” The clinic operates without a board of directors or executive leadership while funded through membership fees. ⁷

Opposition to Immigrant Detention

In April 2020, activists with Trans Queer Pueblo, along with those with Puente Human Rights Movement and No More Deaths, organized a protest calling for the release of detained immigrants within detention centers in response to alleged COVID-19 outbreaks within those facilities. In an interview with High Country News, activists claimed the protest was in response to alleged spread of COVID-19 as well as advocating to an end to detaining and deporting immigrants. ⁸

In November 2024, Trans Queer Pueblo cosigned a letter written by Detention Watch Network to President Joe Biden and then-U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to close immigrant detention centers and release detainees following the 2024 presidential election that month. The letter claimed that the then-incoming second Trump Administration would cause “catastrophe” due to its planned immigration policy detaining immigrants while demanding to end funding for immigrant detention centers. ⁹

Financials

According to its 2022 tax return, Trans Queer Pueblo reported $797,370 in revenue and $739,070 in expenses, the latter of which included $85,833 in grants paid to 75 individuals for rent, legal, and medical expenses as well as for phone bills. ^{10 11}

1. “Qué Hacemos.” tqpueblo. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.tqpueblo.org/en/que-hacemos.
2. Darius Jaafari, Joseph. “Phoenix Pride’s Detractors Say Organization Isn’t Listening.” Q Voice News, October 20, 2024. https://qvoicenews.com/2024/10/20/phoenix-prides-detractors-say-organization-isnt-listening/.
3. Polletta, Maria. “A Year after Snub at Pride Parade, Trans Queer Pueblo Launches Week of Action.” The Arizona Republic, March 31, 2018. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2018/03/30/after-lgbt-pride-parade-snub-last-year-trans-queer-pueblo-launches-week-action-justice/471832002/.
4. “Trans Queer Pueblo.” Astraea Lesbian Foundation For Justice, June 18, 2021. https://astraeafoundation.org/stories/trans-queer-pueblo/.
5. “Conocenos.” tqpueblo. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.tqpueblo.org/en/conocenos.
6. Náñez, Dianna M. “Gay Immigrant-Rights Activists Shut down Phoenix Pride Parade, Ask for a Louder Voice in the Movement.” The Arizona Republic, April 6, 2017. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2017/04/06/gay-immigrant-rights-activists-shut-down-phoenix-pride-parade-ask-louder-voice-movement/99991906/.
7. “Clinica Liberacion.” tqpueblo. Accessed December 9, 2024. https://www.tqpueblo.org/en/projects/clinica-liberacion.
8.  Kutz, Jessica. “Protesting Immigrant Detention during a Pandemic.” High Country News, January 24, 2024. https://www.hcn.org/issues/52-6/covid19-protesting-immigrant-detention-during-a-pandemic-justice/.
9. Letter to President Biden and Senator Mayorkas. “Act Now to Protect Immigrant Communities.” Detention Watch Network, November 15, 2024. https://www.detentionwatchnetwork.org/sites/default/files/NGO%20letter%20regarding%20detention_11.15.24.pdf.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Trans Queer Pueblo Semilla De Liberacion. 2022. Part I, Lines 8-18.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Trans Queer Pueblo Semilla De Liberacion. 2022. Schedule I, Part III.