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Hilary Rivers, a San Francisco drag artist who was arrested by ICE during Pride month, makes her return to the stage on Friday, Nov. 7 at Oakland’s White Horse for a performance that doubles as a fundraiser as she rebuilds her life.
Born in El Salvador and raised in Guatemala, Rivers came to San Francisco as an asylum seeker fleeing persecution for her LGBTQ+ identity. The day after she placed second in Miss & Mr. Safe Latino, a long-running pageant presented by Instituto Familiar de la Raza, ICE agents arrested her at a routine immigration appointment.
In a recent interview with El Tecolote and 48 Hills, Rivers recounted her harrowing three months in immigration detention at the Golden State Annex detention center in McFarland, California, where she was kept in a freezing cold cell so overcrowded that people had to take turns sitting down. She said she experienced sexual abuse while behind bars, and survived an injury that now requires surgery…