Transgender woman detained at courthouse pleads ‘not guilty’ to Illegal Re-Entry
Irvin Gonzalez, 33, the transgender woman whose arrest at the El Paso County Courthouse last month made national headlines, waived her arraignment Thursday on immigration charges and pleaded not guilty.
Reporters were not allowed into federal judge Robert Castaneda’s courtroom for the arraignment by U.S. Marshals, who indicated Gonzalez would just be speaking with her attorney and it would not be open to the public.
ABC-7 obtained a document stating Gonzalez, who has been deported six times, waived her arraignment and pleaded not guilty to Illegal Re-Entry.
Gonzalez was arrested by Border Patrol agents shortly after obtaining a protective order against her boyfriend, Mario Alberto De Avila, on Feb. 9 at the County Courthouse.
The agents originally stated in an affidavit the arrest took place outside the courthouse. However, surveillance video released by the County Attorney showed agents escorted Gonzalez out of the county courthouse.
In an amended affidavit from the Border Patrol agents, they admit to first making contact with Gonzalez inside the courthouse.
County Judge Veronica Escobar, County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal and Congressman Beto O’Rourke all spoke out in protest of the courthouse arrest, stating it could lead undocumented women to hesitate to seek protective orders out of fear of arrest and possible deportation.
