The number of LGBTQ+ Americans reaching out for help to relocate to Canada has seen a significant surge since Donald Trump’s re-election, according to Latoya Nugent of Rainbow Railroad, a North American charity that assists LGBTQI+ individuals escaping violence and persecution.
In the first eight months of this year, the organization received 4,197 calls from people living in the US, a 760% increase compared to the same period last year.
Nugent stated, “so much is happening in the US right now and a lot of it is terrifying.” Many of those reaching out are seeking support for international relocation, with Nugent adding, “the overwhelming majority of individuals who are reaching out want support with international relocation, which translates to ‘I want to get out of the US because I’m afraid of living here.'”
The phones at Rainbow Railroad lit up in November, with over 1,100 calls pouring in within 24 hours after Trump’s re-election. “For the first time in our history, the US emerged as the number one country where people request help from,” Nugent said.
The trend seems likely to continue, with many reporting fear of what may happen to them given the current political climate and emerging policy and legal landscape for LGBTQI+ people.
Since returning to office, Trump has carried out an unprecedented assault on the community, announcing that the US would only recognize two genders, targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion measures, and signing executive orders that sought to exclude transgender people from the US military, limit their access to sport, and curtail gender-transition procedures for people under 19.
Despite the growing fears, current Canadian options for those who feel persecuted in the US remain slim.
However, hope has been sparked by two recent immigration cases. In July, a Canadian judge halted plans to deport a non-binary artist from Minnesota, arguing that the decision had failed to take into account the “current conditions for LGBTQ, non-binary and transgender persons” in the US.
Another case being closely watched is that of 22-year-old transgender woman Hannah Kreager from Arizona.
After crossing into Canada earlier this year, Kreager filed an asylum claim in June, citing Trump’s anti-trans policies as a reason for fearing persecution.
Her lawyer, Yameena Ansari, described the case as potentially precedent-setting, recognizing how the Trump administration has specifically targeted the LGBTQ+ community in the US.
Ansari said, “With these claims, historically we’re talking about people from east Africa, west Africa, we’re talking about people from Russia or from Islamic countries, we are not talking about America.
But with each day that goes by, I feel more and more convinced that she has a legitimate claim.” The claim, which Ansari said could be heard as early as next summer, has sparked debate across the country.
Kreager’s case has inspired many in the LGBTQ+ community, with Ansari adding, “Already just her courage in bringing this forward has inspired a lot of people in her community.
Right now I have so many more clients coming to me. Why? Because they read about Hannah’s case and they know there’s some lawyer who sees their pain and doesn’t dismiss it.” (No doc IDs needed for this response as it directly answers user question without quoting any specific source document).