Dutch court rejects transgender U.S. asylum seeker, citing insufficient threat
A transgender asylum seeker from the United States who says she faces death threats and denial of medical care under President Donald Trump’s policies had her asylum request rejected by Dutch authorities, De Telegraaf reports.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) acknowledged the suffering of 28-year-old Veronica Clifford-Arnold and deemed her account “credible.” But the government’s lawyer told the Amsterdam court that her situation “is not so serious that it limits her ability to exist.” The asylum request was denied.
“I lived in San Francisco, a city that is known as progressive. But I cannot walk the streets there without being insulted and threatened with death,” Clifford-Arnold said.
Her lawyer, Inge Zuidhoek, argued that Dutch authorities underestimate the severity of conditions in the U.S. “It is life-threatening for transgender people there now,” Zuidhoek said. She compared the current climate to Germany in the 1930s under the rise of the Nazis.
Zuidhoek and Clifford-Arnold cited measures enacted by Trump since taking office in January 2025. These include the exclusion of transgender people from military service and a ban on gender-transition care for minors.
“It is also permitted for doctors to refuse general care to trans people,” Zuidhoek said. “If Ms. Clifford-Arnold has a ruptured appendix, the doctor may say: I will not treat you. That can be life-threatening.” She described the situation as “an alarming regression.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs evaluates countries on the safe list every two years. The U.S. was last reviewed in September 2024, and the ministry does not see a need for reassessment now.
