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‘No other option’: inside the refugee camp for trans Americans fleeing Trump
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2026
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I wish I could flee this shitheel country. Issue is that there's currently nowhere progressive that accepts the US as a valid country to flee from.
same, but i'm disabled and there's nowhere anywhere that accepts disabled anyone.
😥
I fucking hate borders, just seeing all these arbitrary lines drawn on a map, it's so fucking infuriating.
People's fates are determined long before they're born, from conflicts long ago.
The only "sin" committed being born on the wrong side of a border
The wild thing is the American southwest. California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas . . . all of that was literally Mexico.
People drew imaginary lines and said "You're an American citizen if you're born here, but not if you're born there". When it's the same goddamned people.
We call Dine people in El Paso Navajo Native Americans. We call the exact same ethnic group 20 miles south in Cuidad Mexican foreigners.
I have disabilities, too. Being trans, older, disabled, and poor is shit. It sucks being seen as the "undesirables" globally.
There are, however, lots of places where you can chain tourist visas, many of which even have a visa exemption scheme for US citizens. Some places even have "working holiday" visas that you can chain if you're under a certain age.
You can juggle visas until the US is recognized as a place to be a refugee from, until you find a legal avenue to permanent residence (like marriage), or until you have the contacts necessary to disappear into the undocumented migrant world.
Or do you still think the US won't get as bad as that?
I think this misses how horrifically expensive this avenue would be. I'm not trying to dismiss that this is a viable avenue for some people, but those people have more financial, social, physical, and mental capital than the majority of trans persons.
When you are given a route to asylum, you have protections and can apply for assistance. You can't do that as a tourist.
So many of us live paycheck to paycheck and, if we sold everything that won't fit in a suitcase, we could barely afford the plane ticket.
We have to make day-by-day analyses and weigh the options. Right now, I'm choosing a semi-stable roof over my head and saving every penny I can manage. My only alternative at this point is to choose homelessness in a foreign country, hoping that I don't get deported back here with no means to rebuild what I've lost.
Being homeless and marginalized in the US is not a viable option. I've literally done that before.
Sure, but there are a lot of countries, which are either cheap enough to retire to or are willing to accept qualified US workers. Also a lot of Americans have some relatively recent migrant background and might apply for citizenship by decent from some countries.
Which ones? Most of what I can find you're good if you have a college degree or $500,000. If you don't have one of those you're out of luck.
That has been what I've found. Over 35, no degree, no savings? lol get fucked.
Best I've been able to find is Uruguay, but languages have always been really hard for me.
Costa Rica is also nice, and I speak some Spanish. But yes, it's a small list.
Just took a look at Costa Rica's residency requirements:
Sigh...
I do think "digital nomad" options are fairly new for a number of countries and that may be my best bet. My field doesn't really have virtual jobs, but my wife's does.
Chaining tourist and/or work visas is also viable.