Trans Americans now seek asylum - from America

Early in the morning after Donald Trump's second inauguration, a large and chaotic family of Americans - six adults, four children, and a 115lb service dog named Luka - spilled out of a plane at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and told puzzled border guards that they had come to claim asylum.

- IO DODDS IN SAN FRANCISCO

Some 48 hours later, they were in a Dutch refugee centre, joining a growing number of transgender Americans seeking refuge in other developed countries for fear of persecution under the Trump administration.

“We truly believed that if we did not get out before it started... our children were going to lose at least one parent, if not more,” Jey Poston, a 32-year-old transgender man and paralegal claiming refugee status in the Netherlands with his polyamorous blended family, told The Independent.

“Two of us are trans, two of us have physical disabilities, we are a multiracial family, all four of our children have autism, and we cross all spectrums of sexuality as well. So we’re just kind of a rolling ball of targets.”

Poston was one of four trans Americans seeking asylum abroad who shared their stories with The Independent. And they are not alone.

The Dutch nonprofit LGBT Asylum Support says it is providing assistance for more than 20 trans Americans through the Netherlands’ refugee process. Canadian immigration lawyer, Yameena Ansari, says she has seen interest from American trans clients skyrocket since Trump returned to the White House.

The total number of American trans people who have emigrated is unknown, but polling suggests hundreds of thousands have moved states within the US due to anti-LGBT+ legislation since 2022.

Under the Trump administration, crackdowns on the trans community have escalated. Bathroom bans. Healthcare bans. Athletics bans. Bans from the military. A proposed ban on gun ownership. Compulsory misgendering at school. University LGBT+ programs shuttered. LGBT+ nonprofits defunded. Blocks on obtaining passports. Child abuse investigations into parents of trans children. Attempts to force trans women into male prisons, where they are at risk of rape.