LGBTQ+ Asylum Seeker Alleges Abuse at Arizona Immigration Detention Center

An openly gay Russian dissident being held in an Arizona immigration detention center says he has been threatened and abused by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as he faces deportation to Russia, where he fears torture or execution.

Maksim Borisov, 22, has been held for the past three months at the Eloy Detention Center, a privately run facility operated by CoreCivic, a multibillion-dollar prison corporation with a long record of alleged human rights violations, according to Migrant Insider, an online news outlet that first reported Borisov's claims.

Last month, Borisov filed an official complaint accusing a CoreCivic guard of harassing him for being gay. While other detainees were allowed to read undisturbed, Borisov said the guard confiscated his book. CoreCivic closed the case without resolution.

On May 28, Borisov received a final deportation order with no option for appeal. According to Borisov, an ICE officer told him that if he refused to return to Russia, he would be sent to a U.S. federal prison for four to five years—then laughed and said he would be raped there.

Borisov has filed a claim under the United Nations Convention Against Torture, stating he faces certain torture or death if returned to Russia. His family has opposed the regime since 2018, and he took part in anti-Putin protests following the 2020 assassination of Alexei Navalny.

In 2023, Borisov was outed after a photo of him attending a Pride parade in Thailand was published. Shortly after, he was attacked in the street. He believes Russian intelligence is monitoring him and knows both his political history and sexual identity.

“I can’t go back,” Borisov told Migrant Insider. “They will kill me.”

Advocacy groups in Arizona say Borisov’s case reflects a broader crisis facing LGBTQ+ migrants in U.S. immigration detention centers. Trans Queer Pueblo and RICE (Refugee and Immigrant Community Empowerment) report widespread neglect and abuse in facilities like Eloy.

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LOOKOUTCelina Jiménez (she/her)

Trans Queer Pueblo, a nonprofit group that works with LGBTQ+ immigrants, is currently in contact with eight LGBTQ+ people detained at Eloy. Some detainees, the group said, have opted to self-deport due to inhumane conditions, ICE misconduct, and lingering Trump-era immigration policies.

The group reported that Eloy fails to provide basic medical care: “Detained people report that when they seek medical attention, they are given only a glass of water as treatment,” the group said in a statement to LOOKOUT.

Chronic conditions such as diabetes often go untreated, and access to transition-related care, such as hormone therapy, is scarce. Trans women are not even provided with proper undergarments, the group added.

Attorneys for detainees are often left to pressure the facility to provide care, and while the group has for years conducted regular visits to facilities in Eloy and Florence, new ICE protocols have made it increasingly difficult to access people held inside.

RICE, a Phoenix-based immigrant advocacy organization, is not directly involved in Borisov’s case but issued a statement expressing concern over the treatment of LGBTQ+ migrants in detention facilities nationwide, especially under current federal immigration policies.

“LGBTQ+ individuals in these settings report elevated levels of harassment, lack of medical or mental health support, and an overall failure to ensure their safety and well-being,” said Patrick Masoya, RICE president and CEO. “These issues demand urgent reform and public accountability.”

Borisov remains detained at Eloy as the threat of deportation looms.

His case highlights what advocates say is a growing crisis for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in ICE custody, particularly in privately run centers like ones in Arizona.

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According to a 2024 report from the Detention Watch Network, a civil rights watchdog group, at least 16 people have died while in ICE custody at Eloy, including five who died by suicide.

In February this year, three people died in the detention center, according to the organization.

A federal investigation by the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties cited serious deficiencies at the facility, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary food conditions, poor laundry service, and frequent lockdowns. The report also documented improper use of suicide watch and solitary confinement, violations of women’s privacy, and repeated instances of verbal and physical abuse by staff.