Transgender American woman files for asylum in Canada over Trump

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

An Arizona transgender woman claims the United States is no longer safe for trans people because of President Donald Trump and has applied for asylum in Canada.
Hannah Kreager, 22, has now 'fled' her home in the Grand Canyon State for the Canadian city of Calgary.
'I have fled in hopes of finding safety, security, and the freedom to continue to live my life, and access/take my medications as prescribed,' Kreager wrote on her GoFundMe page
Her legal filing cites two executive orders by the Republican president, including where the federal government only recognizes the male and female genders, according to The Globe and Mail.
As a result, US passports and identity cards with an X gender marker are no longer being issued.
Her own passport displays an X, she told the Canadian news organization, claiming she is concerned what might happen to hers after hearing the passports of other transgender people have been seized or damaged.
'Attitudes in the United States have grown increasingly intolerant toward trans people by those who have been influenced and emboldened by a president and administration that takes basic rights away from trans people on the basis of nothing more than their identity,' the US migrant stated.
'The danger to trans individuals in the United States is very high, while the threat my community poses is exceedingly low.'
Her pending claim for protection in the Great White North could be a landmark case, the American believes.
'I'm here in Canada with a terrific lawyer taking up my unprecedented case: seeking asylum from the United States of America on the grounds of violation of human rights,' she posted online.
'My case is a precedent-setting one, and if successful, could make asylum for trans people in the U.S. possible.'
Kreager's attorney Yameena Ansari claims she and other Canadian immigration lawyers have been flooded with inquiries from transgender Americans since Trump took power about how they can move to their country.
'This case is about safety,' her attorney Yameena Ansari told the Canadian news site.
'It's about whether Canada will recognize the threat Hannah faces in the U.S.'
Other Americans have also applied for refugee status north of the US border.
An Illinois family with transgender children has made a similar request of the Canadian government, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Kaitlyn and Ted Berg, parents to older children who is transgender, and a younger singling who identifies as gender fluid, pulled their kids from school one day after Trump's inauguration.
'When I saw what happened, Donald Trump being elected, my gut started turning,' Kaitlyn told the CBC.
'And that is when I started looking at how to get my family out safely.'
The military veteran parents drove to the US-Canada border without passports to a border crossing where they made an asylum claim.
However, Canadian immigration officials have stressed that claims from Americans face an uphill battle, as they must prove that they have a 'real fear of persecution or face serious harm, such as torture or cruel treatment, in their home country or where they usually live.'