Trans Refugees: What Trans People Need to Know About Finding Safety Abroad

The growing wave of anti-trans legislation in the United States has forced many transgender people to consider whether they can safely remain in the country. While some are preparing escape plans and exploring international relocation options, others face significant barriers—financial, legal, and logistical—that make leaving nearly impossible.

“We’re in the middle of a huge reactionary shift. It’s largely a response to the growing acceptance of transgender people in America,” transgender journalist Cora Neas told NPQ. “I still think this country is mostly safe for us, but intensifying rhetoric has many of us thinking about how we could escape if needed.”

Over the past few years, states have passed bans on gender-affirming care, anti-trans sports bans, outing policies, inaccurate definitions of sex used to marginalize trans people, and “Don’t Say Gay” censorship bills. Over 93 percent of transgender youth aged 13 to 17 live in states that have proposed or passed anti-trans laws, with growing numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in states across the country every year.

These anti-trans laws have resulted in widespread displacement of the transgender community. A Data for Progress survey taken in June 2023 discovered that 8 percent of transgender adults in the United States have relocated due to discriminatory legislation, and another 43 percent are considering doing so. Roughly 1.6 million Americans are transgender, meaning between 130,000 and 260,000 have already relocated, and approximately 688,000 are contemplating it.

Concerns about safety and the need to relocate are prevalent in online discussions among transgender people. The term “trans refugee” has surged in use, peaking after Trump’s election and again after his signing of anti-trans executive orders.

In response to these growing concerns, mutual aid organizations, nonprofits, and progressive faith groups have organized to address the growing need for travel, relocation, and housing support. In January, TransLash Media released a Trans Relocation Guide to assist trans people in finding “safe havens—whether by relocating to more trans-friendly areas within the U.S. or by moving abroad.”

Donald Trump’s Anti-Trans Agenda

Since taking office, Trump has aggressively targeted transgender rights through executive orders and federal policy changes, endangering trans people even in “trans refugee” states. His administration revoked federal recognition of nonbinary and transgender identities, reinstated a military ban, signed directives restricting discussions of LGBTQ+ topics in education, as well as an anti-trans sports ban, and targeted gender-affirming care for kids. States that haven’t complied with his anti-trans executive orders, such as Maine and Colorado, have become targets of his administration.

Federal agencies have also been instructed to roll back protections for trans people, with the Department of Homeland Security removing prohibitions against discriminatory surveillance based on sexual orientation or gender identity; the Department of Housing and Urban Development repealing anti-discrimination protections; multiple agencies eliminating nonbinary gender designations on student aid applications and intakes for filing discrimination charges; and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dropping at least six anti-discrimination cases for transgender workers alleging gender identity discrimination.

Despite many anti-trans policies being blocked by courts, Trump’s administration has retaliated with executive orders suspending attorneys’ security clearances and jump-starting investigations into law firms. Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers—and Elon Musk—have called for the impeachment of judges opposing Trump’s anti-trans policies, further endangering the judiciary’s ability to fight back. Notably, incarcerated transgender women have already been transferred to men’s facilities despite multiple court rulings blocking the policy, highlighting the administration’s willingness to disregard court injunctions and restraining orders.

Trans People Weigh When to Flee

In response to this executive attack on trans rights, some transgender people and their families feel they need to prepare to relocate to different states or flee the country altogether.

For most, the answer is to move (or remain) in more liberal states where protections for transgender people already exist, such as New York or California—which can seem out of reach due to costs alone. On the r/trans Reddit thread, one user wrote: “Go to deep blue states ideally, if you haven’t already. The red waves sweeping north as well and it’s not even realistically possible for most people to just move to Canada or Mexico (easier) or wherever.”

But even in “blue” states like California, transgender people are getting worried. “Kids and families are scared to death. It’s like they’re terrorized, that’s what it feels like,” Jill Jacobs, chief executive officer of the Bay Area-based Family Builders, told Cal Matters. With few options nationally, this has pushed people to look abroad.

“Within the first 24 hours of Trump’s reelection, we received 1,177 requests for help (RFH) from the United States. Up until that point, we had received 700 RFH from the USA in the entire year,” Swathi Sekhar, the director of protection initiatives at Rainbow Railroad, a nonprofit that helps relocate LGBTQ+ refugees, told Dazed in February. “We saw another spike in RFH from the US in January after the inauguration,” Sekhar said, “and expect this trend to continue.”

“I think about the cost of leaving a lot, but also about refugees globally and what their choice to leave might have cost them.”

In fact, multiple subreddits have emerged with trans people asking whether others are planning to leave the United States and how to determine when it’s time to go. While some are committed to staying and fighting, others are weighing their options.

“I see so much talk about fleeing the U.S. now, and I’m trying hard not to panic because as of right now it still waits to be seen whether or not Trump’s anti trans executive order will be upheld,” one person said on the subreddit, r/MtF. “I see so many people talking about changing gender markers, or getting residency in other countries…how? And should I bother?”

One trans person who spoke with NPQ anonymously described their personal “get out” lines—that is, red flags signaling it’s time to leave. These include civil unrest, such as the deployment of military or National Guard troops to suppress peaceful protests; violence against LGBTQ+ people being tolerated or dismissed by law enforcement and prosecutors, effectively signaling “open season” on trans people; and increasing “stochastic violence” in gendered spaces like bathrooms.

Journalist Neas echoed this line of thinking in our interview. “The big one [for me] is any kind of mass incarceration for being trans,” she said. “I think about the cost of leaving a lot, but also about refugees globally and what their choice to leave might have cost them. It also feels like a question of timing—we’ve already seen restrictions on our ability to get passports, and on visas for trans people abroad.”

A recent executive order targeting transgender people’s documentation has led to passport denials, raising concerns among trans people about increased scrutiny, discrimination, or even being turned away at border crossings. Additionally, another executive order denying visas to transgender athletes is worded broadly enough that it could potentially impact all transgender people.

Exploring Routes to Leave

Amid growing uncertainty, some trans people are already taking concrete steps toward leaving the country.

One trans woman who spoke with NPQ anonymously is pursuing multiple pathways, including Italian citizenship through jure sanguinis due to her spouse’s Italian ancestry. If they can prove an unbroken lineage and obtain the necessary birth, marriage, and naturalization records, they may be able to get citizenship.

She is also considering asylum in Canada, though recent reductions in immigration targets and student visa quotas—driven by a severe housing crisis and growing public backlash against newcomers—could make that difficult.

Another option she is exploring is Portugal’s Golden Visa, which offers residency and eventual citizenship through a €500,000 ($540,432) investment. However, significant backlogs could threaten her ability to access the visa—and the cost makes it unviable for many to pursue.

If none of these options work, she plans to apply for a digital nomad visa, allowing her to live and work legally in a country like Portugal, Spain, or Estonia while exploring more permanent solutions.

Others are considering studying abroad as student visas can serve as a gateway to work permits and, eventually, citizenship. Those with fewer financial resources are looking into humanitarian visas or LGBTQ-specific asylum programs in Argentina, France, and the Netherlands, though these processes are bureaucratically challenging and difficult to access.

“For any US citizen trying to seek asylum abroad, it is important to note that the international legal framework for refugee protection (grounded in the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees) is inherently restrictive and applies a high legal burden on someone seeking asylum in another country,” Timothy Chan, director of communications at Rainbow Railroad, told NPQ. “As such, US citizens usually do not meet the international legal definition of a refugee. Although refugee systems vary by country and cases are determined based on a personalized assessment of circumstances, trans US citizens seeking asylum abroad should anticipate encountering some of these challenges.”

Because of these obstacles, Rainbow Railroad is currently not able to help trans people leave the United States.

“We continue to closely monitor the situation in the US, and to refer US citizens to different resources and organizations that provide support for LGBTQI+ Americans. Rainbow Railroad also continues to speak out against the deeply harmful policies impacting LGBTQI+ individuals, refugees and migrants in the US,” Chan said.

This has left some trans people feeling trapped in a country where persecution against them is on the rise. As one person who contacted the organization for assistance to leave the country said on r/MtF: “Unfortunately it looks like they can’t save us.”

However, other collectives, such as one formed by transgender people now living in Mexico, have created a trans guide to the country to help trans people considering relocating, covering topics like passports, immigration, healthcare, and relocation advice.

“We put together this guide by channeling a shared sense of helplessness into something actionable,” the group told NPQ. “Having already gone through the process of relocation, there are so many questions that can at first seem overwhelming: ‘Will I be able to get my HRT (hormone replacement therapy)? Where, and how much will it cost? What cities have the best trans healthcare? Where are the largest queer communities? What’s necessary to gain residency? What if I don’t meet the requirements?’ And so on.”

The guide highlights that while American media often portrays Mexico as dangerous, Mérida, Yucatán, was actually ranked the second-safest city in North America, and Puerto Vallarta has lower crime rates than Seattle.

At the same time, the group stresses that there is growing resistance in Mexico to gentrification and an increasing frustration with foreigners who impose Americanized norms or disregard local culture.

While many trans people are preparing to flee the country, if—and when—it becomes necessary, not everyone has the ability to do so.

“Trans USians who consider moving to another country should be aware of their privilege. Even as we consider fleeing to other places and seeking safety in the face of extremely real and present danger, it’s important to consider the effects of our resettling in other countries, especially ones already deeply affected by colonialism and US imperialism,” the group told NPQ.

The group also told NPQ that shifting US geopolitical policies could have a profound impact on trans support networks beyond its borders. For instance, Casa Frida, an LGBTQ+ shelter in Mexico City, is at risk of losing a significant portion of its funding due to cuts from USAID.

Barriers to Leaving

While many trans people are preparing to flee the country, if—and when—it becomes necessary, not everyone has the ability to do so.

“Trans people with disabilities face significant and specific disenfranchisement,” educator Riley Clare Valentine told NPQ. “In light of the current wave of transphobic legislation, it is difficult to determine whether leaving a country is possible.”

Although most countries do not explicitly exclude disabled migrants, many enforce ableist immigration policies that exclude people based on services or healthcare they might need and can create significant barriers for trans disabled people. Additionally, strict financial self-sufficiency requirements disproportionately disadvantage disabled people, particularly those reliant on disability benefits.

“In my case, I would need to see if my medications are accessible with ease, and if not which ones my epileptologist would recommend,” Valentine said. “Likewise, I have a medical life-saving implant which will eventually need replacing, and I am unsure of whether I would be able to get a replacement easily outside the country. The ability to find out these types of information requires significant energy and executive functioning, which depending upon the disability, may be impossible.”

These ableist obstacles can make emigration unattainable for trans disabled people.

“To leave the country you live in, permanently, is something that for many people with disabilities is impossible, particularly transgender people with disabilities,” Valentine told NPQ. “Any discussion of ‘fleeing the United States’ must carefully consider who is being left behind.”