Udoka Nweke arrived in the United States in late 2016 seeking asylum, telling authorities that as an openly gay man in his homeland of Nigeria he could be punished with a long prison term or, in some parts of the country, death. Instead, Nweke found himself in the federal Adelanto Detention Center in San Bernardino County, his mental health deteriorating. On Friday, some 15 months into his detention, Nweke’s plight prompted advocates for LGBT people and immigrants to gather outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Santa Ana and call for his release. “All he has seen of the U.S. since his arrival… is a jail cell,” said Ola Osaze of the Transgender Law Center, based in Oakland. The LGBT Center OC, along with other groups, called attention to the case on the first day of LGBT Pride month.