“Resistance Maricopa: Karyna Jaramillo” is one of a five-part series from Colorlines featuring activists in Maricopa County, Arizona, who are fighting to protect communities and families from detention and deportation amid a political climate that’s growing increasingly hostile toward immigrants.

Karyna Jaramillo is a transgender activist from Cuernavaca, México, who uses her lived experiences to fight for immigrant and LGBTQ communities. Jaramillo, who works both inside and outside of detention centers in Arizona, has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement three times. But that hasn’t stopped her.

Maricopa County is known for its history of harsh and racist immigration enforcement, especially under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He served the county for 24 years before being charged with criminal contempt for ignoring a federal judge’s order to stop the racist profiling. In November 2016, Arpaio lost re-election thanks, in part, to a national campaign called Bazta Arpaio and a PAC specifically dedicated to unseating him.

To learn more about the impact mass deportation can have on families and children, read “Shattered Families” a report by Colorlines’ publisher, Race Forward, and check out Colorlines‘ coverage of this and other immigration enforcement issues.

To turn on subtitles for this video, please see the video on our YouTube channel here.

Co-Producer: Hendel Leiva 
Photography:  Diego Lozano