Category: Police / Law Enforcement / ICE
Police are more likely to mistreat LGBTQ+ people, a disturbing new study finds
Faefyx Collington (They/Them)November 18, 2025, 1:00 pm ESTShutterstock
LGBTQ+ people are significantly more likely to stopped, harassed, and even falsely accused by the police than non-LGBTQ+ people, according to a new study released by the Williams Institute. As a result, LGBTQ+ people are less likely to contact the police when they need support, the study notes.
“Participants in these studies have described being stopped for no reason, encountering hostile treatment when police discovered they were transgender, and having officers assume they were engaging in sex work or other illegal activities,” the report explains, detailing some of its qualitative research. “Participants in several studies shared that they have concerns related to their LGBTQ identity about contacting the police or that they avoid police in order to avoid negative interactions.”
The Williams Institute study analyzed 25 years of research on interactions between the LGBTQ+ community and police. The data came from surveys, incident reports, government investigations, qualitative research, court cases, and anecdotal reports.
The findings might not be astonishing to those familiar with LGBTQ+ history, most notably the police raids that led to the Stonewall Riots. While decades have passed since crimes explicitly targeted LGBTQ+ social behaviors, the report suggests that changes only run so deep and notes that it was only 2003 when the Supreme Court ruled sodomy laws as unconstitutional.
The Williams Institute study analyzed 25 years of research on interactions between the LGBTQ+ community and police. The data came from surveys, incident reports, government investigations, qualitative research, court cases, and anecdotal reports.
The findings might not be astonishing to those familiar with LGBTQ+ history, most notably the police raids that led to the Stonewall Riots. While decades have passed since crimes explicitly targeted LGBTQ+ social behaviors, the report suggests that changes only run so deep and notes that it was only 2003 when the Supreme Court ruled sodomy laws as unconstitutional.
Just as the censorious Hays Code from the 1930s to ’60s still defines aspects of modern media, past criminalization of LGBTQ+ identities has created an environment where discrimination and harassment are common.
“The history of criminalization and related tensions between law enforcement and LGBTQ communities have legacies that extend to the present day,” the report acknowledges. The authors also note the new waves of anti-trans laws, pointing to the fact that “Recent years have seen a rise in anti-LGBTQ legislation, with many of these new laws imposing criminal penalties.”
The analysis of survey data revealed that as well as being more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, and held in custody, LGBTQ+ people were also more likely to report verbal, physical, and sexual harassment and assault at the hands of law enforcement.
The study’s lead author, Joshua Arrayales, a law fellow at the Williams Institute, released a statement noting that all of this meant that LGBTQ+ people were less likely to report crimes, and that affects future data.
“Reporting crimes is essential for accurate crime statistics, proper allocation of crime prevention resources, and support services that address the unique needs of LGBTQ survivors,” Arrayales said.
As previous data already suggested that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be crime victims, this research supports the idea that many crimes against queer people go unreported.
While LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be stopped by police, face harassment, and avoid contacting law enforcement as a result, the statistical differences grow for specific groups. People who are part of other marginalized groups reported higher incidence rates; one study showed that 46% of trans people said they’d avoid contacting the police if they were the victim of a crime.
The study also found that these interactions often had a lasting impact. A “growing body of research” suggests that there are “associations between police violence and harassment and binge drinking, stress, depression, and other negative health outcomes.”
The Williams Institute study also provides action items for improving the current situation: “(1) legal and policy reform, (2) enhanced accountability and representation within law enforcement agencies, (3) community engagement and support, and (4) continuous data collection and evaluation of these initiatives.”
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Please take 7 minutes and watch this.
RI judge intervenes after ICE wrongfully detains Superior Court intern
The story below shows how lawless and belligerent ICE has gotten. The laws and the legal authority of a judge mean nothing to them. There is a video at the link below.
On a personal note I have a doctor’s appointment this morning for steroid injections. Depending on how it goes I may need them for the next three months. I will try to do a video to explain as it is too hard to type out. I am way too tired starting from when Ron and I had what we think is Covid a few months ago. Hugs
“If they had the wrong person, then they didn’t know who they were looking for, which calls into question whether they had the legal right to seize anybody,” Weizenbaum said. “It’s very frightening.”
Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos referred to the ICE agents’ actions as an “attempted abduction,” adding that it only emphasizes “the danger of flooding our streets with masked thugs who can’t tell the difference between a hardened criminal and a high school student.”
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A Rhode Island Superior Court intern was briefly taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Providence Thursday afternoon before a judge intervened, according to the state’s Judiciary office.
The student, a high school intern at Superior Court, was reportedly detained by the agents outside the Licht Judicial Complex on Benefit Street.
Superior Court Judge Joseph McBurney insisted the agents had the wrong person. It was not until ICE verified their information and admitted the intern was not their intended target that he was released.
Multiple sources told Target 12 that Rhode Island sheriffs earlier noticed someone taking photos of the intern inside the courthouse and in Superior Court Judge McBurney’s courtroom. When approached, the individual identified himself as an ICE agent and was told to abide by standard courthouse rules, and to stop taking pictures.
The intern was reportedly shaken, so McBurney offered to drive him home. ICE agents then surrounded the judge’s car and demanded everyone to exit the vehicle, threatening to smash in the windows if they did not comply.
Dana Smith, Head of Security Operations for R.I. Superior Court, confronted the agents and told both the judge and the intern to stay inside the car. After an argument, ICE confirmed they had misidentified the teen and left. The intern was released once his ID was checked.
Community reaction
“This egregious incident underscores both the community’s and the Judiciary’s concerns about how ICE is conducting its operations in Rhode Island,” R.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell said.
Citing that climate, Suttell said the Judiciary understands recent calls to expand the use of virtual court hearings in Providence.
“The need to balance constitutional considerations, the public’s right of access, and the integrity of testimonial and evidentiary processes do not allow for a fully virtual court system,” Suttell said. “What occurred today, however, reinforces the Judiciary’s need to focus on ways to enhance access to virtual hearings and to educate the public as to how to request such hearings.”
Attorney Miriam Weizenbaum was outside the courthouse as the intern was being detained.
“If they had the wrong person, then they didn’t know who they were looking for, which calls into question whether they had the legal right to seize anybody,” Weizenbaum said. “It’s very frightening.”
Gov. Dan McKee described the intern’s wrongful detainment as being “an outrageous and indefensible act that could have completely upended a young person’s life. “
“Rhode Islanders should not have to fear federal agents operating with such reckless disregard for the law and human dignity,” McKee said. “This was not a harmless mistake. It was the direct result of callous and chaotic policies by the Trump administration. Moreover, ICE’s failure to exercise even a shred of due diligence is shameful and underscores just how broken and dangerous these federal policies are.”
McKee said he supports the judiciary’s commitment “to enhance access to virtual hearings and promote safe access to courts.”
Rep. Seth Magaziner called the incident “completely unacceptable.”
“This is yet another example of the disregard for civil liberties by immigration enforcement under the Trump administration,” Magaziner said, adding that he will “continue to call out the administration’s reckless actions.”
Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos referred to the ICE agents’ actions as an “attempted abduction,” adding that it only emphasizes “the danger of flooding our streets with masked thugs who can’t tell the difference between a hardened criminal and a high school student.”
Matos commended Judge McBurney for using his position to speak up, while condemning those who continue to support ICE.
Tim White (twhite@wpri.com) is Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter and host of Newsmakers for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.
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