U.S. WorldPride organizers consider warning international transgender travelers to stay away amid escalating fears under Trump

Yahoo

10-04-2025

Organizers of WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., are facing a heartbreaking possibility: they may have to warn transgender people — especially those traveling from outside the United States — to stay home.
Ryan Bos, executive director of the Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride this year, told regional leaders this week that organizers are considering issuing a travel advisory warning transgender people — particularly those traveling from outside the United States — that coming to the nation's capital this summer could be dangerous due to anti-trans policies enacted by the Trump administration.
Related: Germany issues warning for transgender & nonbinary people traveling to the U.S.
Washington-area news station WTOP first reported Bos's comments, which were made Wednesday during a meeting of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
'It's possible that we may actually issue a statement telling trans folks internationally not to come, or if they come, they come at their own risk,' Bos said, according to WTOP. 'Those are the things that we will be discussing with the D.C. government and our partners to determine how best to communicate that to ensure that we're getting the resources to the folks that need it.'
Bos told The Advocate days earlier that these difficult conversations are happening because the safety of trans people must come before anything else — even for an event built around global visibility and defiance.
Related: WorldPride organizers urge global unity amid calls to boycott U.S. LGBTQ+ celebration
'At the end of the day, folks are going to have to make decisions that they feel most comfortable with,' Bos said. 'There will be those that choose to come, even though they are afraid and may be putting themselves at risk. And we do want to do our due diligence to provide as much support here in D.C. on-site as possible.'
The potential travel advisory comes as trans people seeking to enter the United States already face growing barriers under the Trump administration's anti-LGBTQ+ policies. In February, a State Department memo issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed consular officers to deny visas to transgender applicants whose documents do not reflect their sex assigned at birth — a policy advocates warn could amount to a de facto ban on trans foreigners seeking entry into the U.S., including for events like WorldPride.
Germany has also issued a formal travel warning for transgender and nonbinary citizens considering travel to the U.S., citing new federal rules requiring all government documents — including passports and visas — to match sex assigned at birth. Immigration experts warn the combination of these policies could severely limit the ability of trans people to travel to or from the United States, fueling international concern and placing even greater pressure on D.C.-based WorldPride organizers to ensure safety and transparency for attendees.
D.C. Council member Charles Allen told Bos and other Pride organizers that the federal government is to blame for such a warning.
'Those warnings rest and fall squarely with the incredibly shameful tactics we've seen in language from the federal administration,' Allen said. 'I'm disheartened to hear that, but I hope you also recognize you've got partners in this room that want to be right there with you to make sure this is a wonderful, successful event, a safe event, that's going to take place across the whole region.'
Bos told The Advocate that in addition to on-the-ground safety resources, Capital Pride is preparing to launch March for All, a partnership with Outright International that will allow people unable to attend to have their names carried by marchers in D.C. In addition to the annual Pride parade, WorldPride organizers are expecting a huge rally and protest march on the National Mall on June 8.
Related: WorldPride 2025 expects huge 'visibility' march & rally in D.C. amid Trump's anti-LGBTQ+ agenda
'Think of it as wearing a racer's bib,' Bos explained. 'Folks who don't feel safe traveling here can sign up online, and someone will march for them — visibly, proudly, in the streets.'
Egale Canada, that country's largest LGBTQ+ advocacy group, has already pulled out of WorldPride 2025, citing safety concerns for trans and queer travelers. InterPride, the international Pride network, has issued its own travel warning.
Despite the tense climate, Bos is resolute that WorldPride belongs in D.C. — now more than ever.
'If you go back to the first Pride, or even the Stonewall Riots, those happened in communities that were at a time when our community was under attack,' Bos told The Advocate. 'That's how the movement really grew — to stand up, to take action, be visible — and that couldn't be more true today.'
'Cancelling, moving it is a sign of retreat,' he added. 'It doesn't give folks in our community who are looking for — especially in the light of all the DEI repercussions — that debate — folks are yearning to know who is there to fight for them, who is there to fight for us. And if we're unwilling to fight for ourselves, how can we expect corporations to stand firm? How can we expect folks in government, in Congress, to stand up?'
Related: Bianca Del Rio will emcee Equality PAC's National Pride Gala during WorldPride D.C. (exclusive)
Bos said Capital Pride still expects more than two million overnight visitors during WorldPride's main two-week celebration and another million day visitors. He conceded the international contingent might shrink but believes domestic attendance may grow in defiance of anti-LGBTQ+ policies.
And Bos reminded critics that joy itself is resistance.
'Providing safe spaces for people to celebrate and be joyful is also a form of protest,' he said. 'The fact that we're dancing in the streets, whether it be the parade or the festival, we're protesting — because we're being told that we don't have value, we're being told that we should not have pride in who we are — and the act of doing so is the biggest way to protest that we can.'
WorldPride 2025 will mark the first time the global event has returned to the United States since New York hosted it in 2019.