VANCOUVER, Wash. — Dozens of people gathered in downtown Vancouver on Wednesday to protest the arrest of an asylum seeker in Portland .

ICE agents detained the woman, who is from Mexico, after she left a hearing in a federal courtroom. The woman's lawyer said she is seeking asylum and safety in the U.S. after men in a Mexican cartel raped and threatened to kill her because she's transgender.

"Pretty soon (ICE agents) are knocking on our door for something we don't know we even did, so I think we have to nip this in the bud," said protester Elton Billings.

For Billings and his wife, Christine, the case feels very personal; they have a transgender daughter and Christine is an immigrant.

"I couldn't stand the idea that they were taking somebody who was already in the process of seeking

See Full Page