House Democrats are preparing to ask the Department of Homeland Security to release all transgender immigrants being held at long-term federal immigration facilities. Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois is leading the effort to ensure those who identify as transgender are not held weeks or months in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention while they await federal judge decisions on whether they will be returned to their home countries or allowed to remain in the United States. “We write to demand the release of all transgender people currently detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” according to a draft copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner. The letter cites a report by the liberal organization Center for American Progress that states, “LGBT people in ICE custody are 97 times more likely to be sexually victimized than non-LGBT people in detention.