Court to rule on Netherlands' rejecting asylum request of American trans woman

The court in Amsterdam will hear the case regarding a rejected asylum request of a transgender woman who fled the United States on Wednesday afternoon. The 28-year-old American was not granted asylum because the Netherlands sees the U.S. as a safe country for all groups, said LGBT Asylum Support. According to the organization representing the asylum seeker, this is the first Dutch court case in this category.

“The discussion will be about what the ruling is based on,” explained Sandro Kortekaas, chair of LGBT Asylum Support. “There is no official report on the current situation in the United States.” He believes one should be prepared as soon as possible. According to LGBT Asylum Support, transgender and queer people in the U.S. are facing “extremely deteriorating conditions.”

The organization pointed towards a verdict made by a Canadian judge, who blocked the deportation of a non-binary American due to the policies of the current U.S. President, Donald Trump.

In the first year of his second term, for example, transgender care for young people has been restricted. Transgender individuals are no longer allowed in the military, and government language can no longer include terms such as transsexual, non-binary, and gender identity. According to the aid organization, this effectively “erases” entire groups.

That is not all, said Kortkaas. “The FBI recently showed that the number of hate crimes in the U.S. is increasing.” He also believes that this is due to the U.S. administration’s policies.

Dozens of Americans from the LGBTQ+ community have come to the Netherlands seeking asylum. “We are in contact with around twenty people who found the situation in the U.S. too dangerous. In total, this concerns more than thirty people.”