Darien Woman Sheds Light on Transgender Immigrants
by Casey Donahue

http://www.thedailystamford.com/neighbors/darien-woman-sheds-light-transgender-immigrants

DARIEN, Conn. – The plight of transgender illegal immigrants is probably a mystery to most people. But Darien native Isabel Castro is working on a documentary that will share the tale of three transgender women from Mexico who fled to Los Angeles.

"Crossing Over" focuses on Francis Murillo, Brenda Gonzalez and Abigail Madariaga. All three come from rural areas of Mexico and suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of family, friends and police because they are transgender.

"Their story is fascinating. The cultural and social pressures in Mexico just made it impossible for them to live there," Castro said.

Posted on Advocate.com November 30, 2011 05:00:00 PM ET
Documenting Lives of Transgender Immigrants
By Diane Anderson-Minshall

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/30/Documenting_Lives_of_Transgender_Immigrants/

A new documentary, Crossing Over, will focus on the lives of three transgender women, all undocumented immigrants from Mexico. According to the Connecticut paper The Daily Stamford, the women — Francis Murillo, Brenda Gonzalez, and Abigail Madariaga — all fled rural Mexico seeking asylum after suffering physical and sexual abuse at the hands of family, community members, and even police, because they are transgender.

Filmmaker Isabel Castro, a student at New York University's Tisch School of Arts, tells the paper, "Their story is fascinating. The cultural and social pressures in Mexico just made it impossible for them to live there."