Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

In June 23, 2025, a 24-year-old American citizen was found dead in custody of an immigration detention center in the Dominican Republic. Ezra Hulett identified as an intersex transgender person. He died at the Haina Detention Center in the Dominican Republic. Ezra also used the name Ezri Hajiune. To the best of my knowledge, Hajiune was a chosen name based in Japanese anime culture.

The Crime

The circumstances surrounding his death are full of conflicting details and serious questions.

Ezra was a person who had lived with significant mental health illnesses and the impact of childhood trauma as per the family crowdfund.

The family reports that Ezra traveled to Puerto Rico where he went missing in March 2025. Some reports state Ezra living in a permanent residence for patients with mental illness in Puerto Rico. One social worker from Puerto Rico claims Ezra had been missing for over four months from the treatment program. From PR, Ezra attempted to travel to the Dominican Republic where he was detained by immigration authorities on March 15, 2025. He appeared via Punta Cana International Airport where security footage documented his arrival. Puerto Rican sources claim Ezra had a passport unbeknownst to the treatment facility.

Further, that facility was searching for Ezra in Puerto Rico when they were notified of his death. They were unaware he was in the Dominican Republic.

Another source claims Ezra was taken into custody after being found homeless, wandering, showing signs of disconnection from reality, unable to identify himself, and amid reports of alleged assault, They further claim that Ezra displayed severe communication difficulties, an inability to self-identify, and behaviors that indicated a compromised mental health status. He was evaluated by mental health professionals, diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, and received treatment in the Dominican Republic.

The family contends that Ezra was detained allegedly due to a lack of documentation. He was then sent Sabana de la Mar on April 19, where he remained in custody for two days. It appears charges were not filed, but Ezra was sent on to the Haina detention center on April where he remained until his death in June.

Dominican authorities conducted an autopsy that found no signs of violence even though Ezra allegedly reported multiple incidents of sexual assault while in custody. They state that Ezra self-identified as male, using the name Ezri Hajune, which led to placement in the men’s area. Authorities also noted erratic behavior and inconsistencies about his nationality in addition to Ezra’s lack of Spanish.

Carlos Sanchez, a human rights attorney for The National Council for Human Rights advocated for Ezra, securing a court ordered evaluation in early May that was delayed by immigration officials until June 17. At that point, Ezra was transferred to a women’s unit where he died a few days later. Ezra’s family is further concerned that authorities did not release the body until June 27

Sanchez played a prominent role identifying Ezra and addressing the lack of mental health care, translation supports, and placement in a facility that put him at heightened risk of violence.

Director Nelson Gutiérrez alleged that, during detention, Ezra was subjected to repeated sexual assaults by male detainees, claiming at least fifteen perpetrators were involved.

Advocates criticize the new Dominican deportation procedures, which involve mass detentions before group expulsions, increasing the vulnerability of those in custody. So we know Ezra was housed with men who presumably were not Dominican themselves.

So the Dominican Immigration authorities used Eza’s erratic behaviors to delay appropriate healthcare and identification means, even under court order BUT they took him at face value about his gender identity? Does anyone think Ezra was not subjected to a physical exam even though denied a psychological one – I’m not at all suggesting that their body belied their identity claims, but it is hard to believe no one at least considered that concretely determining their identity – name, nationality, gender, potential diagnosis -should happen BEFORE sending them away to an immigration facility. If the Dominican immigration were baffled by Ezra’s presentation – physically, mentally, even linguistically – all the more reason to use appropriate tools and assessments, including those offered by the courts.

Ezra seems clearly to have been struggling with his mental health, self-care, safety, their literal nationality, and certainly language. That’s a lot of alarm bells.

Sanchez figured it out, so it is deplorable for the Dominican government to claim they did not have the resources to meet the needs of Ezra or anyone else detained. But here in the US, we know how this plays out.

So the crime is certainly Ezra’s death, but also includes the allegations of multiple sexual assaults, the details around their detention, the details around their residential treatment in Puerto Rico, the policies of Dominican immigration authorities, the accuracy of existing documentation. Then there are questions about why Ezra left Puerto Rico and the trans/queer competency of their treatment. Questions about the Dominican Republic’s LGBTQ+ policies and immigration protocols.

The Dominican Republic has an aggressive expulsion protocol for any migrants and no birthright citizenship as outlined in this NPR article.

We also don’t know the status of his mental health with certainty much less why he was receiving treatment in Puerto Rico. The crowdfund mentions childhood trauma. There’s no mention of another parent, siblings, extended family. I cannot find reports from when he went missing. Was he trafficked? Hiding?

Honoring Ezra

According to the family GoFundMe, he was born at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, and grew up in Clifton Park, attending Karigon Elementary/Gowana Middle School (Shenendehowa CSD) and winning an academic scholarship to Emma Willard School in Troy. Ezra had a gentle soul, a calm presence, and an extraordinary mind. He was deeply compassionate, sensitive, and brilliant—someone who moved through the world with quiet kindness.

The crowdfund has urgency behind it Goals are to bring Ezra’s body home to the United States, where he can finally be laid to rest with love and dignity. fund a second independent autopsy here in the U.S.—because the true cause of death remains unclear. Also, Ezra’s family will need to hire a lawyer to bring them home and investigate the autopsy results. In addition, there are so many questions Ezra’s death raises; if we’re only able to answer one, it would be to understand why this happened in the first place.

Ezra’s repatriation must be made immediately to prevent cremation, thus irretrievably losing vital evidence.

I have not found very much online presence for Ezra so most of what we know is through the filters of his family. I hope anyone who knew and loved Ezra will share more information.

The Context

Ezra is the 12th trans person whose death has been reported in 2025. He is the third white trans person. This means 75% of violent deaths among trans folx reported in 2025 targeted BIPOC folx. Ezra is also the third trans man on our list. Ezta is the first known intersex individual on our list.

It seems that 2025 has already had unutterable horrific deaths. Trying to even understand the interplay of atrocities Ezra experienced – from childhood trauma and serious mental illness to winding up a victim of immigration tactics that we shudder about every day. I very much hope the family can get the second autopsy for their own peace of mind, but also to hold any country accountable – including our own – for the treatment trans people experience while being detained.

Ezta was an American citizen with (allegedly) a legal passport. The violence he experienced in the Dominican Republic should provoke an outcry, but I doubt that will happen. Surely Ezra’s backstory is complicated, but nobody – nobody – deserves to be dumped in a detention facility and be raped (at least) 15 time in two months. That brutality is what they want us to develop an immunity to here in our own country so it is inherent on us to speak up for Ezra, to demand NY elected officials ask questions. And for us to ask those officials what steps they took when they learned about Ezra’s detention?

How did Ezra end up receiving psychiatric care in Puerto Rico when the family lived in Upstate New York and Texas? Ezra denied they knew Spanish (or English) so that seems a risky decision for their safety to be unable to communicate.

Setting aside mental health, family relationships – it is no longer hard to believe any trans person would flee from the US to find refuge just for being trans. Is that what Ezra did and just pick the wrong country, trust the wrong person?

At no point in my research have I come across any reference to Ezra’s friends or support system. No RIP posts, no pleas to support the investigation, no shared memories or anecdotes. Was he that utterly alone?

I will acknowledge how hard it has been to research a story when most of the primary materials are in Spanish, some without translation tools. I’ve reached out to other researchers to ensure I’m doing right by Ezra. At the very least, I hope we get a conversation going in US media and among advocates.

Rest in power, Ezra. The truth of your entire experience may bring peace, but we cannot assume you would have been safer in the US. You deserved a healthy safe environment, to be embraced for the totality of you. Your body was sacred and special, not deserving degradation or violation. Your mind was precious and your life was valid.

May your memory be a revolution.

Please do not share this content without attribution. Thank you.

Deaths reported in 2025

1. Tahiry ‘Tokyo’ Broom – February 9, 2025. Detroit, Michigan. Age 29.
2. Sam Nordquist – February 2025. Canandaigua, New York. Age 24.
3. Amyri Dior – February 21, 2025. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Age 23.
4. Ervianna ‘Baydee’ Johnsonn – February 19, 2025. Tabor City, North Carolina. Age 25.
5. Linda Becerra Moran – February 27, 2025. Los Angeles, California. Age 30.
6. Kaitoria ‘Kai’ Le’Cynthia Bankz – March 31, 2025. Autaugaville, Alabama. Age 31.
7. Kelsey Elem – April 24, 2025. St. Louis, Missouri. Age 25.
8. Shy’Parius Dupree – May 19, 2025. Memphis, Tennessee. Age 32.
9. Laura Schueler – June 7, 2025. Cincinnati, Ohio. Age 47.
10. Hope Lyca Youngblood – June 7, 2025, Los Angeles, California. Age 49.
11. JJ Godbey – June 19, 2025, Canton, Ohio. Age 26.
12. Ezra Hulett – June 23, 2025, Dominican Republic. Age 24.

Other deaths I’ve reported during 2025

• Elisa Rae Shupe – January 27, 2025. Syracuse, New York. Age 61.
• Chilendrina Gracia Dominguez – January 18, 2021. Reported February 2025. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Age 42.
• Amira O’Neill – July 6, 2023. Ann Arbor, Michigan. Age 44.
• Jay Lee – July 8, 2022. Oxford, Mississippi. Age 20.