Help Bring Ezra Home and Seek the Truth
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Help Bring Ezra Home And Seek the Truth
On June 23, 2025, our beloved Ezra Hulett was found dead in custody of an immigration detention center in the Dominican Republic under horrific and inhumane circumstances.
Ezra was just 24 years old.
Ezra—born Ellen Frances Hulett—was a transgender person who used they/them pronouns.
They were born at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany, NY, and grew up in Clifton Park, attending Karigon Elementary/Gowana Middle School (Shenendehowa CSD) and winning an academic scholarship to Emma Willard School in Troy. Ezra had a gentle soul, a calm presence, and an extraordinary mind. They were deeply compassionate, sensitive, and brilliant—someone who moved through the world with quiet kindness.
Ezra was a person who had lived with significant mental health illnesses and the impact of childhood trauma. Missing in Puerto Rico since March, they were detained in the Dominican Republic (DR) while traveling there from Puerto Rico, allegedly for not having proper documentation.
While being held and questioned, DR authorities had acknowledged Ezra was clearly in psychological crisis—frightened, disoriented, unable to identify themselves, and expressing incoherent speech. However, instead of immediately seeking medical assistance, hospitalizing them, or contacting the US Embassy so family could be notified, they were held for over two months in barbaric conditions at the Haina Immigration Detention Center, a place already under investigation for corruption, overpopulation, and deplorable and unsanitary conditions.
View video below of a television report from an investigative reporter in the DR.
For the majority of their time being detained, Ezra was held in the male cell block; only in the last two weeks were they transferred to the women’s section.
One person, Carlos Sanchez, a human rights attorney for The National Council for Human Rights, heard about an unknown person in the detention center suffering abuse and showing signs of mental illness. He recognized their suffering and worked tirelessly on Ezra's behalf to intervene in the last few weeks of Ezra's life. He voluntarily championed to find out Ezra’s identity and petitioned the San Cristobal criminal court for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the legality of Ezra’s detention, provide medical intervention, and have the courts recognize Ezra’s basic human rights.
Despite his efforts, however, Ezra’s detention remained unchanged until they were found dead on June 23. Their death, like their detention, was easily preventable and deeply unjust.
We are heartbroken. We are grieving. We are seeking answers.
We are raising funds to:
1. Bring Ezra’s body home to the United States, where they can finally be laid to rest with love and dignity. UPDATE: EZRA'S BODY HAS BEEN BROUGHT BACK TO THE STATES
2. Fund a second independent autopsy here in the U.S.—because the true cause of death remains unclear, and we believe that a thorough examination (post-mortem) is critical for clarity and accountability.
3. Ezra’s family will need to hire a lawyer to bring them home and investigate the autopsy results. In addition, there are so many questions Ezra’s death raises; if we’re only able to answer one, it would be to understand why this happened in the first place.
For that, we need your help.
Between international repatriation of Ezra’s body, transportation costs, conducting an independent autopsy, and hiring a human rights attorney, costs will range anywhere from $25,000 to $45,000.
Confirming Ezra’s repatriation must be made immediately, otherwise the DR will cremate them, thus irretrievably losing vital evidence.
This is time-sensitive. Every hour counts.
Why This Matters:
Ezra’s death occurred in a place where they had no one to speak their language (and were offered no translator), no legal advocate (despite Mr. Sanchez’s own efforts), no medical treatment (despite needs being recognized and Ezra’s hand writings asking for medication), no effort to authenticate their identify, and no real protection or basic human rights.
Please, if you can: donate.
Every penny helps. Share this campaign far and wide. Your support will help us carry Ezra home and honor the beautiful life they lived.
* For additional information on Ezra’s last weeks, view this investigative report carried out by Alicia Ortega, an Emmy-award-winning investigative journalist who is known for uncovering corruption scandals and defending human rights:
For subtitles, click Settings>Subtitles>English
With deep gratitude,
Linda Gerace-Skinner, Jaime Cashier, and friends of Diane Meyer (mother of Ezra)
Organizer and beneficiary
Friends and Family of Ezra
Organizer
Saratoga Springs, NY
Diane Meyer
Beneficiary