San Francisco drag queen Hilary Rivers has been released by ICE...

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

San Francisco drag queen Hilary Rivers has been released by ICE and granted asylum

https://www.advocate.com/news/drag-queen-hilary-rivers-granted-asylum 🔗


Mey Rude (31 Oct 2025)

Hilary Rivers, the San Francisco drag queen who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for nearly three months, is now back at home and ready to talk about her experience.

Rivers was released on September 20 after being detained by ICE on June 26 outside immigration court. In an interview with bilingual independent news publication El Tecolote, she spoke about being taken into custody and then held in a California detention center for weeks. First, she described how her friends had warned her not to go to the court date, which she believed was a routine appointment related to her asylum claim.

"A few days before my court date, friends warned me not to appear because people were being picked up," Rivers, who was born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, told El Tecolote. "But I wanted to do things right. I knew if I didn't show up, I could get an automatic deportation order. So I went to court with my lawyer."

... Rivers was completely caught off guard by officers approaching her right after the judge said they would need more time to review her case. This was the day after she competed in the 30th annual Miss & Mr. Safe Latino pageant, which was founded to bring awareness to issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community.

"Officers asked my name. I stayed quiet. My lawyer also didn't answer. They seemed to understand I was the person they wanted," Rivers said. "They grabbed me, pushed me against the wall and shackled me. My lawyer tried to intervene, but they pushed him aside. They put my hands and feet in chains. I've never been arrested before. It was terrifying."