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Advice For Trans Americans on Trump’s Inauguration Day

Today, Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second term as President of the United States. We all know what kind of president he will be, and what this is likely to mean for trans Americans. Our advice remains as it has been for the past few years; for trans Americans to plan their exit from the country. We’ve already helped a large number of you to leave, some of whom we’re pleased to have welcomed in Europe, but we know there remain a huge number of you still in the USA. Many people will offer you sympathy, but you don’t just need sympathy, you need to survive.

First of all, don’t panic.

As MAGA soundbites fly around and repressive executive orders are signed, we understand how easy it must be to despair. But there’s still hope, and there is still time. We believe that there are few trans Americans who can not leave their country by some means, and thus we implore you to make a plan, and follow it through. What plan you make is up to your circumstances and perception of risk, and to help you we have produced plenty of resources.

Don’t wait to find out

It’s likely that tomorrow, or next week, or next month, will begin without the mob coming to round up all American trans people. The predicted disaster will not come immediately, and many people will start to relax a little. It’s not that bad, they’ll say, we’ll be OK, we’ll get through it. Our advice would be to not succumb to this, because we expect the coming disaster to be more akin to a gradual closing of the jaws than an immediate crackdown. If you take a moment to read some Holocaust history you will find plenty of heart-wrenching stories of people whose chance of escape was missed, and we do not want you to find yourselves in that position. Never lose sight of the MAGA agenda towards trans people, and make sure you are gone before those jaws close too far for you to make it.

Find your networks.

Reach out to your friends and loved ones. Support each other. When Trump was elected we posted the following:

We have faith that many of our fellow Americans will, in the end, help us in our time of need. You will find among your fellow citizens those who will respect and protect you, but think about your day-to-day security, and act accordingly.

We still stand by this, and we believe that those many Americans who did not want Trump’s oligarchy will support you.

Make your plan, and good luck!

We firmly believe that escaping is within the grasp of the majority of trans Americans. We think you can do it, and we have spent the past few years working to ensure that not just those individuals with wealth can make it. Whether you arrive in another country in a Gulfstream or in a Greyhound, you will have escaped the reach of Trump, and you will survive. We’ve brought together as many resources and as much advice as we can elsewhere to help you plan your exit. Good luck.

A Transgender Information Centre: How To Hold The Hate Criminals To Account

As 2024 draws to a close it’s likely you may be facing every day as we are, with a sense of dread as to what is likely to happen in the New Year. In America, President-elect Trump is making dire pronouncements about how he will come for trans people once elected, in the UK Keir Starmer’s Labour government is busy destroying as much trans healthcare and rights as it can, and in a host of other countries around the world there are far right elements wanting to do the same thing. We’ve been sounding the alarm for years now and urging people to get out, but we know that over the next year our community is likely to lose a lot of people.

We can’t let them get away with this

If there’s an inevitability to some of this and we are powerless to stop it, it remains important that whoever does this should not escape without consequence. There will come a time when this is all over and it’s widely recognised that a great wrong was done to transgender people, and we need to be ready for that moment. To that end, the best thing we can do is ensure that there is plenty of evidence ready, both to ensure hate speakers are forever rendered unemployable by association with their actions, and to support the successful conviction of those who have committed atrocities against us. It’s clear to us, that the time for collecting that evidence lies not in the future when it’s all over, but now, before they have happened.

A picture of Simon Wiesenthal as a younger man.
Simon Wiesenthal. Nationaal Archief 116-0527, Public domain.

In 1947 the Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal founded the Jewish Documentation Centre, whose function was to gather and collate as much evidence on Nazi war criminals as possible such that they could be brought to justice. The Centre had a part in bringing more than a thousand war criminals to justice, using low-tech information management and whatever witness testimony they could find.

We would like you to imagine for a moment what Simon Wiesenthal could have done had he been able to start the process before the Holocaust started, and with access to a 2024-style internet firehose of every Nazi sharing all they did on social media. A smiling Nazi from a picture could be identified by facial recognition software from an image taken years earlier, or the quiet unassuming office worker could be unmasked by the database pulling up their every antisemitic rant.

If you can understand how valuable such material would have been had it become available to war crimes investigators, we think you’ll start to grasp how the same approach could be of value to the transgender community now. This is our 1932, we have a unique opportunity to start a massive data grab of every information point, both online and in traditional media, to hold the perpetrators to account when they later try to disappear. We also have the huge advantage of not needing to worry about the analytics side of it, as future computing power will be unimaginably fast compared to what we have today, and will take care of joining the dots.

What will be needed for a Transgender Information Centre?

Creating such a Transgender Information Centre will be no small task, and is one which is both out of Trans Rescue’s scope, and available resources. It will require researchers to identify the data to be captured, it will require information specialists to create the storage scheme to contain it, and infrastructure specialists to work on creating a secure, robust, and distributed data storage infrastructure.

This document then is a call to arms for such a project, in the hope that it can encourage others to run with the idea. It will need that group  experts to come together, and in that we believe the transgender community has an advantage. A trip to almost any hackerspace will show you how many trans people work in those fields, and it’s the interest of some of those people we hope this document will attract.

In the years following the Second World War a generation of Germans swore blind that they were never Nazis, and from that pool of fellow travelers a group of war criminals were brought to justice. We think that with the right information, this can happen to the UK TERFs and US MAGAs too. We know there are people out there with the skills for this, and even the resources, and we are sure many of them feel impotent and unable to do anything about the tide of hate. Here’s something for them, that may one day make a difference.

Header: James Cridland from Brisbane, AU, CC BY 2.0.

Interpreting Trump’s Speech On Transgender Policy

As this is being written, we sit just under a month away from President Trump’s second inauguration. As you might expect, his every utterance is being studied for clues as to the direction his notoriously unpredictable administration might take, though with some pronouncements there’s little room for doubt. Currently in the news is a speech he gave to the faithful which contained a short section on his intentions for the transgender community, and as you might expect it’s not good news. It’s mostly well-trodden talking points such as transgender children, schools, sports, and the military, but one section in particular caught our attention.

“Under the Trump administration it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male, and female.”

On the face of it this sentence is nothing new, but it has us concerned because of the knock-on effect it could have on transgender Americans. In particular, since gender appears on identity documents including passports, our worry is that this could immediately be used to invalidate those of transgender people on the grounds that they show the wrong gender.

They’ve done it before

If it sounds far-fetched, we would like to take you back a few years into the first Trump administration when they did exactly this to several transgender Americans. The highest profile case was that of the activist Danni Askini, who became stranded in Sweden after the State Department refused to renew her passport. In her case this came her way because her organisation, the Gender Justice League, had sued the administration over its policy on transgender people in the military. Its relevance to 2025 lies in it showing that they are prepared to invalidate the identity of trans people, and this in conjunction with the sentence in Trump’s recent speech has us worried.

Here at Trans Rescue we have always tried to take the approach of giving you all the relevant information to make up your own mind rather than telling you what to do. Your path is yours alone, and we think your chances of success lie in having the best information. We are worried about the likely direction the new administration will take, but it remains for you to decide how bad for you their decisions will be, and how quickly that might happen.

That said, we think that transgender Americans should take this threat seriously, and continue to plan for a speedy exit. It’s unlikely that passports will be invalidated on day one when Trump signs his executive order, but we expect how that order is interpreted will evolve over the succeeding weeks. It’s not inconceivable to think of a time when US border agents interpret it as meaning that passports should be in birth gender only.

Please think of your own safety over this difficult period.

Header: Ali Shaker/VOA, Public domain.

Don’t Bet the Farm On It, But A UK-Europe Youth Mobility Scheme Might Help You

It’s fair to say that for British trans people, 2025 does not promise to be the best of years. The much-hated Conservative government may have gone, but the newly-elected Labour government of Keir Starmer has proven itself to be just as infiltrated by TERFs as its predecessor. As this is being written our community is reeling under a puberty blocker ban for young trans people, and with the deeply-transphobic Wes Streeting as Health Secretary we don’t hold out much hope of things getting better. Even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day though, and there’s something on the horizon for Westminster which might for once have a positive impact for trans people. It’s by no means a certainty but there’s enough noise in the air about it to make it worth discussing, so read on to find out more.

Post Brexit, green shoots emerge

Whatever your views on Brexit may be, it’s difficult to reach any other conclusion than that the Conservatives botched what was supposed to be their crowning achievement. Given it was such a big thing for them you might imagine that they would have put a lot of effort into the framework of treaties under which a post-Brexit Britain would exist, but instead we got four years of internal party strife followed by a disastrous hastily cobbled together last minute deal. Relations between the UK and its Continental neighbours took a significant beating, one that it will take many years to fully repair.

Nearly a decade after the referendum then, it’s encouraging to see the first green shoots of diplomacy seeking to repair the cross-Channel relationship. In particular there’s one proposal which has us very interested, and we think you should be too. It’s an idea for a youth mobility scheme, one in which 18 to 30 year olds could live and work in the EU for four years in something of a cultural exchange. For young British trans people wishing to get out it could offer just what they are looking for.

Before any of you get your hopes up though, it’s important to say that at the time of writing this scheme is just a proposal, and not yet something you can take advantage of. Here at Trans Rescue we prefer to deal in facts rather than rumours, so this article comes with a warning that it’s part speculative and part informative. The proposal is real though, and since it comes from the European Commission we think it should be taken seriously. Rishi Sunak’s government turned it down in April 2024, but according to Politico it’s still firmly on the EU agenda even if Keir Starmer isn’t so keen. There are indications that the UK’s line on Europe may become progressively less chilly than that under the previous government though, so we’d say this: Don’t bet the farm on it, but keep an eye out and be ready to move if it becomes a reality.

If a mobility scheme happens, how to plan ahead.

So given the above, how should you plan for a future young person’s mobility scheme if it happens? The answer is simple enough: have a plan. Work out where in Europe you would go under such a scheme, and what you would do once there. Would you bring an existing skill with you, or would you do casual work? How much could you earn there, and how would that match up to the cost of living? And while English is spoken in many places, can you speak the language where you’d like to go? If not, download a language app and start learning.

The final part of any plan should consider this: If this is a four-year scheme, how can you extend that if you consider the UK to be an unwelcoming place to return to at the end of your visa? We can’t gaze into a crystal ball and say how EU countries would handle this, but as always our general advice to anyone looking at a new visa would be this: consider how attractive to the country you are. If the scheme happens and you take advantage of it, treat those four years as preparation time for a succeeding visa application. Integrate, put down roots, establish a career. Make yourself into an attractive future citizen, Our experience is that applying to renew an existing visa in-country is much easier than applying for your first visa from outside, but to successfully do so you still have to be someone they want to hang on to.

This has been a departure from our usual advice; for once we’re telling you to look out for something which may not happen rather than to take advantage of something readily available. But we think there’s a non-zero prospect of a European youth mobility scheme appearing, so it would be wrong of us not to talk about it. The UK remains a country of concern but for now at least it’s not a physically dangerous place for a trans person to live, so you have the luxury of a little time in which to plan for a more open future for Brits with respect to Europe.

Header: Furfur, Public domain.

Donating and Taxes From Outside the Netherlands

Thank you for your support.

If you wish to donate but don’t care about claiming on your taxes, we have a form for direct donations here. Donating directly avoids a bit of fuss for both Forbidden Colours and ourselves.

If you are donating from outside the Netherlands, know that we are a Dutch foundation. So claiming your donation on your taxes requires “fiscal wrapping”. An organization that is registered in many countries takes the money on our behalf and turns it over to us. This relieves us of the considerable administrative burden of being a legal entity in many places, at the expense of a slightly more complex process for donating. We are grateful to Forbidden Colours, who graciously has agreed to perform this service for us at no cost. They are registered in the USA as a 501(c)3 organization.

To donate to us in a way you can claim on US taxes:

  1. Make your donation to Forbidden Colours using this page. This page is hosted on every.org, a site that provides donation acceptance services for many organizations, including Forbidden Colours. In the “Add a note for Forbidden Colours” please put “for Stichting Trans Rescue Foundation”.
  2. Please send an email to annie@transrescue.org to let us know about the donation. This is needed to track the donation from Forbidden Colours to us.

Forbidden Colours in turn uses Myriad.org to in turn wrap them, so the donation to Forbidden Colours appears as Myriad USA to the IRS. The Employer Identification Number (EIN) or tax number for Myriad USA is 58-2277856.

Thank you for supporting our passengers.

Sincerely,

Anne Ogborn

 

 

 

 

 

LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back.

pen/ink drawing of trans woman running away from camera

This article is our participation in the protest against the Democratic Party’s abandonment of Trans people in the USA proposed by Julia Serano.

Many of these articles will be, I’m sure, angry rejoinders at the Democrats’ cowardice, or angry Jeremiads against the genocide of trans people.

We instead invite patriots from anywhere in the political spectrum, Democrats who see beyond cowering at the fascist and those few Republicans still clinging to the ideals of the party of Lincoln, to consider what long term impact the second administration of the 47th President will have on the USA.

We’re in the business of making migration happen. We think about what effect migration, especially refuge driven migration, has on the countries left and the countries they have gone to.

Far from “your tired, your poor, your huddled masses longing to breath free”, emigrants are often the most industrious people of their society. Consider the stereotypical immigrant of the early 20th century. To emigrate to America required the cost of passage, more than an individual was likely to have. So often the extended family or local community acted collectively, pooling their funds, then picked one of their best to go first. With greater earning power in America, he (occasionally she) could send back funds to bring another. Carlo brings his cousin, then they bring two more men from their village, then they all bring their wives and children.

Even when it is refuge that is driving the migration, it is those with the most personal resources – money, power, brains, or sheer gumption – that get out. Hitler tried to make an atomic bomb. A reading of Richard Rhodes’ “The Making of The Atomic Bomb” makes it abundantly clear that the US succeeded in creating the atomic bomb and Germany did not largely because the privileged, PhD educated physicists who did it were precisely the same people, many of them Jewish, who were able to leave Germany. To this day the stereotype of a New York academic includes being Jewish.

Idi Amin Dada wearing a military uniformIn 1972 Idi Amin expelled the ethnic Indian minority out of Uganda. They had been the bulk of the merchant class in Uganda – the cause of the resentment against them. Uganda’s commercial economy has never really recovered.  British friends, on the other hand, tell us the 27000 who went to Britain form an important part of her trading class.

Minorities are the usual target for expulsion. And minorities often are more entrepreneurial than the majority population. The soft jobs, the cushy government job, the rent seeking landlord, belong to those with social capital. The woman with the small business is more likely to be a recent immigrant.

state flag of KansasOur director is from a small town in Kansas. With few opportunities, Kansas drives out the people who were too smart, too ambitious, or too creative to stay. And that means the ambitious woman starts that successful business in San Francisco. The mathematically gifted kid goes to MIT and never returns. And the remaining people are slightly less ambitious. The mean, the messed up, the dullards remain. They do as poor a job of parenting and genetics as they do everything else, and after a few generations, it becomes noticeable.

We have seen a fifty times jump in requests for our assistance from trans people leaving the USA since Nov 5.  We believe almost every American trans person can get out, regardless of circumstance, if they go about it in a businesslike way. But contacting us first requires believing one can get out, somehow.  So it will shock no one that among the trans people we are hearing from, a staggering 15% is from a single occupational group, software engineers, and another 5% have other occupations in STEM. Precisely the labor group most in demand. Our passengers from the Arab world include a doctor, three software engineers, a lawyer, and a social worker – all skilled workers their home countries desperately need. The same phenomenon applies. The able  get out.

Emigrant groups don’t go back.  They take with them their skills and their productivity, and leave their former country the poorer. “Brain Drain”, it’s sometimes called.  They also take their capital.

If you are very, very wealthy it quickly becomes well worth going to extremes to keep the government from taking it as taxes. So the uber wealthy often change their citizenship to decrease their tax burden. We watch a small consultancy, Nomad Capitalist, that specializes in helping them do it. The day after the election we found this pop up on their website –

website popup with an image of Trump, boxes for name and email, "are you a us citizen?" dropdown, and a check box to joing the Nomad Capitalist Live waitlist

Clearly they were being overwhelmed by inquiries from wealthy people suddenly wanting to move away from the USA. (the popup disappeared a few days later). We have to wonder how much money will flee the US with them.

So now we ask what shall happen in the future to the USA. Fascism is forcing the unpopular – trans people, ethnic minorities, and immigrants among them – to consider out migration in unprecedented numbers. But who else won’t go back?

The wealthy, apparently. Witness our popup. Who else requires a bit more of a crystal ball. But not too much. “Elites” is a slur the new fascists love to sling around. And when it’s a synonym for the rich and powerful, that’s reasonable. But for the fascists it often means anyone of any accomplishment –  “Hollywood elites”, “academic elites”. Umberto Eco, in his seminal “Ur-fascism” includes intolerance of difference as a trait of fascists. Not intolerance of minorities, or of specific groups, but simply of difference. And it’s the different who are, per person, the most valuable members of society. Freddy Mercury (or Farouk Balsarah if you prefer) certainly was different. The accomplished must inherently always be different from the mass of us. And the accomplished are likely to be the people who have the resources to flee.

So we sadly conclude that we will see a future America, if such exists, that is poorer for losing its best people. An America that moves towards its worst. A kakistocracy. Florida man forever and ever. America too won’t go back.

This article was written by a Kansas town kid in a cold flat in Enschede Overijssel in The Netherlands. She won’t be going back.

Four ‘do’s of teaching English and living abroad

For many people, teaching English in a foreign country is a popular and realistic way of travelling the world. You can sample cultures and meet people that you may only have read or watched vlogs about. For many of us it has also represented a way out of our countries, allowing us to live abroad perhaps in places where we can live a life that we want to. But below the dream lurks risks and dangers which might be hard to spot or easy to overlook.

In this article, I will share some of my experience to help you get the best experience as you look to move to another country.

If you want to learn about the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) or TESOL (Teaching English as a second or other language) industry a bit more there are dozens, if not hundreds, or websites where you can do that. I recommend the British Council’s Teaching English site (https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/) as a good place to learn about the job in general.

What I want to go into in a bit more detail is to look at four ‘do’s’ for trans folk if you are considering work in this field.

Do move intentionally and keep an open mind

One of the first things you might notice is there is an overwhelming number of locations you can choose from. There is work available in every continent, barring Antarctica – penguins make poor customers and don’t seem especially interested in learning English.

So first of all, think about what kind of place would you most like to live. Try to avoid thinking about where you like going on holiday as those countries aren’t necessarily the best places to live full-time. Sri Lanka, for instance, is an almost perfect holiday destination (despite the fact we’re illegal there), but living there was a nightmare of high electricity prices, very poor public transport, constant harassment on the streets, few shopping options, and high corruption. That last issue meant I overstayed my visa and ended up paying hundreds of dollars when I left.

South Korea on the other hand, is almost the opposite (although I wouldn’t bank on on the legal status of trans people there).

Try to also look past your own preconceptions. Thailand might seem like a good destination, but don’t let the prevalence of kathoey people trick you into thinking it’s a dream location, as they often talk about the prejudices they face in their daily lives.

You need to look at your personal priorities and think carefully about where the best places might be. You might find that through your homework some countries you had never considered turn out to be better than others.

Institutional intentionality

Another element of this intentionality is to look into the types of institutions and schools offering work in those locations. I would strongly advise looking at international or larger organisations. These are much more likely to have policies on equality diversity and inclusion and potentially LGBTQ+ representation. I mentioned the British Council earlier – they would be an excellent choice. Look also at International House, Wall Street Institute, and universities (although they are harder to get work in).

For my money, as a transgender person, most of western Europe would be a good bet (especially Portugal and Spain). However I also know of a trans woman teaching in Vietnam.

Do back yourself to succeed

You might find that this all seems impossible and overwhelming and there’s no way you will ever achieve this. You might tell yourself all manner of ‘logical’ reasons why you are doomed to fail:

“I’ve never taught, how can I ever succeed with this?”

“I can’t learn a new skill, I’m too [XYZ]”

“Teaching is for people with [personality / skill X]; that’s not me!”

“I don’t know anything about that country…”
“I don’t know anyone there…”

“What if the students hate me?”

“What if I run into issues with the school?”

Well I’ve worked with people of all ages and backgrounds. I’ve actually trained a 62 year old who’d only started teaching university students a couple of years previously to teach preschool kids. He was great!

While you may face some issues with students or parents, this is why finding a good school is key. Not only will they be more willing to back you, they will also probably have a good training programme, and possibly some scheme to help integrate you into the country.

But even with the most supportive of employer, you still need to tell yourself ‘I can do this…’. Believe me; I have seen people from all walks of life succeed and thrive.

Do remain professional

OK, so story time: in my first TEFL job in South Korea I was terrible. I’d go out drinking every night. I’d come into work 30 minutes before class stinking of soju. My classes were poorly-planned, lacked structure and discipline. My students were bored and frustrated in my lessons. In other words, I was the worst.

But I wanted to stay. I realised – perhaps too late – that I really enjoyed the job and was hoping they would renew my contract. I asked the director if that was a possibility,

Friend; they did not renew my contract. On the last day of my contract, I got my severance pay and, because of the visa regulations, had 24 hours to leave the country. Luckily I had the privilege of being able to go back to the UK, take a qualification, and try again.

If you are looking at teaching as a means to get to a safer and better country, you do not want to be in a position where you need to scramble to get another job and go through an application process according to someone else’s timeline.

Don’t give the management the option of letting you go or dismissing you. Plan your lessons, go to the meetings, take the courses and get the qualifications, submit your paperwork on time. Yes, this does mean staying in the office a bit longer and doing the ‘boring’ stuff. But it will be noticed if you don’t. And it is appreciated when you do! It might also mean having to invest some time and money into getting a teaching qualification, but it will pay off in the long-run.

You can still enjoy the nightlife and the culture – but make sure you keep that to your own time!

Do gain local friends

Oh boy! Now don’t get me wrong; I love living abroad. I enjoy meeting all the variety of people who decided to move, and learn what has brought our paths to the same point. I have met some genuinely fascinating people. Some have lived with yak herders in Outer Mongolia. Some have been enforcers for local mobs. Some are absolute bullshit artists, but are so entertaining you have to forgive them for it.

But goodness gracious, so many of them love a moan about their host country!

I do often wonder why some people stick around certain countries for so long if they apparently hate everything about it, but be careful about getting drawn into their criticisms. While sometimes they do raise valid points, there’s often little that can be done about bureaucracy or cultural differences. I won’t say why I think they are complaining so long and loud about the place they chose to come to. I will say that it can often result in a myopic and superficial way of looking at the place.

So with this in mind, I would strongly recommend finding local friends or contacts as they will be much more useful in helping you to navigate things like healthcare provision, contract or governmental issues. They can also introduce you to other, wider social networks. I have found LGBTQ organisations and groups, sports teams, and other resources by looking locally rather than counting on the help of other “expats”.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t count on non-local people sometimes, it’s just you’re more likely to find what you need by digging a little deeper. This may mean working a bit harder – go onto Facebook or local sub Reddit groups, be a bit more ‘assertive’ in social settings, and – yes, elephant in the room – there will be language barriers. But that’s also where local friends can help.

Only four do’s?

I wrote this knowing this could only give a certain amount of information – I could easily write a book about this. I also recognise that this is rather general. It’s hard for me to go into specifics without knowing more about your personal circumstances. I hope that this has given you a few useful things to consider. I have found living abroad to be very rewarding and if you are considering it, I would recommend it – if you can do it right.

If you would find it useful, I am happy to answer questions. Feel free to reach out to me at andy@transrescue.org, and I’ll answer when I can.

About the author:

Andy (she/her) is an educator, parent, yoga enthusiast, traveller, cook, and transgender woman. She has a BSc in Psychology and an MA in Education, plus TEFL-specific qualifications CELTA and DELTA. She has been working in TEFL for 20 years, living and working in South Korea, Poland, the UK, Sri Lanka, and Kuwait. You can find her living in Warsaw, Poland with her girlfriend. But they would love to move to Madrid as soon as possible!

Getting a US passport

The most important item you will need for any relocation plan is a passport. It is crucial to get your passport as soon as possible in case you need to move quickly.

Your passport application and appointment 

Visit https://usa.gov/passport for locations of passport facilities. You can also find and print the paperwork you will need. Fill all of this out ahead of time. (Do NOT sign form DS-11 until you are told to do so at your appointment.) You will need to bring proof of citizenship, a photo ID, and photocopies of each of these documents. The website tells you what kinds of proof of citizenship and IDs will be accepted.

Definitely get the book – do not get only the card. If you can afford it, get the book and the card. The card is a useful additional ID abroad, especially if you have to hand over your passport book. This is often the case when you are getting a travel stamp or visa put into your passport book.

Ask for extra pages (or the “big book”) for extra stamps. Say you plan to travel extensively.

You will need a passport photo. It is best to get these at a shop that advertises passport photos. This can be a Walgreens-type store or a local photo shop. They do not cost much and it is better to have approved ones than to take a risk printing them yourself and then having them rejected at your appointment.

For the appointment, you will need to have exact cash. Make sure you know how much the fees are and bring that exact amount. As of now, they are: Book $130, Card $30, Fee $35 ($195 total for passport book and card).

Urgent Travel Service

To get a passport quickly, do the urgent travel service if you can. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

This is a one-day service. You will need to go to a travel center in order to get the urgent travel service. In order to request the urgent travel service, you will need to demonstrate that you intend to travel in the next 14 days. Some ways you can do this if you do not intend to travel right away or have not yet made a solid plan: book a cancellable/refundable plane ticket to Canada, or book a refundable airbnb or hotel in Canada or Mexico if you can show you live within reasonable driving distance.

Second passport

Once you have a passport, you can request another one. To do so, you will need to state that you are traveling to two places with passport conflicts (e.g. Israel & Palestine, Pakistan & India). You’ll then have two copies of your passport.

To apply for a second passport book, you will need to fill out a form and submit a signed statement. You can do so in person at a passport facility so that you do not have to send in your existing passport. You will also need an additional passport photo and will need to pay fees for a second passport. More information can be found here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/have-passport/second-passport-book.html

Renewing 

If you already have a passport, should you renew it? There are some things to consider.

(1) If you have under two years left on your passport, you probably should. It is far more difficult to renew your passport abroad, you will have to be without it for a time while traveling, and many countries require a minimum of 6 months to expiration to admit you.

(2) If renewing, you will have to let go of your passport while you wait for a new one. The upshot is that you will have more time on your passport, which gives you more time should the US stop renewing trans people’s passports. The downside is that you will be without a passport for a couple of weeks. And the US might stop renewing trans people’s passports at any time.

Consider carefully which option will be best for your particular situation, but in most situations it is better to renew now.

Passport gender markers

If you have a choice on whether to get an X as your gender marker and would like to do so, consider the following: (1) It is likely that legislation will be put forward under the Trump administration to remove this as an option, and (2) there are some countries you will not be able to travel to, or through, with an X marker (e.g. Dubai).

Consider carefully whether you want to delay getting a passport because it will have your deadname. You may be somewhere in the process of changing your legal name and/or gender marker and want to wait until this process is complete. We strongly believe that having a passport in any name is better than having no passport.

Lastly, don’t let these numerous considerations delay you. It is far better to have a passport now than to need one and not have it. Book your appointment now.

Getting Out With Little Funds

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train?

You can still get out.  You will, admittedly, need a little money, but it’s door dash money, not $10,000.

Remember that most people who are refugees are far poorer than you. The Pakistani guy who’s made his way to the Calais jungle started with a nest egg, but it’s been a long trip and it’s long gone. They do it and you can too, if your life depends on it.

This article assumes you are not on disability, simply to make things clearer. We’ll have another article on disability payments. Here we’ll assume you’re just working a low-paying, entry level job or are unemployed, struggling to get by.

It also assumes you’ve watched one of the info sessions. If not, that’s your first stop.

Some Strategies that don’t require as much money

Go to Canada or Mexico. They are closer. It may not make that much difference to travel costs, but it does to your ability to retreat to the USA and try again if it’s not working. If you find a job in Canada you can apply under CUSMA.

Air travel is cheap but you need shelter at the destination. Ground travel means you can carry some minimal camping shelter with you. Google advice on getting cheap tickets.

Join an Au Pair program.  Some one else pays your living expenses. Downside – you now have a crummy job taking care of someone else’s kid.

Backpacking travel – Combine with volunteer tourism.

Live on the border – Don’t truly emigrate, but move near the Canadian border. Go over the border more and more and apply for jobs. When you get a job offer, use CUSMA to get a permit.

Slow down – Make an emergency leave plan, even if it’s unattractive: “I have a bugout bag and passport. In an emergency I’ll take a bus to Windsor and figure out how to survive.”  Then make a better plan that involves saving like crazy until spring.

It is going to be hard, but others have done it.  You may have to leave your stuff behind or sell precious treasures.  You may have to work even though you’re on disability. Some comfortable habits (buying weed or eating delivery) may need to be broken. You are going to need to be resourceful, imaginative, and willing.

Mostly, you are going to need to be self-reliant. Gofundme, #mutualaid, and similar requests are going to dry up. Everyone is in trouble and aid is spread thin.

There are options! Here’s 26 more unusual ways people are supporting themselves in new locations. Many require little/no money. You may have transferable skills or knowledge that you can apply in new areas. Or you can do manual labor or entry-level data entry. Everyone starts somewhere.

Group Tactics

Form an affinity group.  One of you has a big tent, another is just more resourceful. One of you is a decent mechanic when the shared car breaks down. Another knows how to camp. Help each other and share knowledge.

Here are some tactics for your group to use:

Share resources – one person has a good car, another is a shade tree mechanic, another plays an instrument and can busk (play on the street for donations).

Pool finances and send one person. When they’re established, then others go join them. This is how many immigrants got to the USA out of Nazi Germany, and how many got from the “old country” to the USA historically.

Live 6 in an apartment for a month. It won’t be comfortable, but at the end of the month you have 5 rents.

Get on community buy/sell boards or gig sites and offer services together, like moving.

Demand everyone contribute – don’t take dead wood or problematic people with you.

Ways to Earn Money Quick

Work an event – Check online, they are often looking for people to work events (catering service, concerts, etc.).

Busk – If you can play an instrument, stand on a downtown street and play with a hat in front of you.

Sign – makes $5-$10 an hour.

Sell your stuff – if it’s not going with you, sell it on ebay.

Door Dash – if you are in their system in one city you can do it anywhere.

Sell something on Etsy – crochet something cute and easy to make. You can do it anywhere. Or there are loads of digital products you can make and sell entirely online.

Get on community buy/sell boards or gig sites and offer services like tutoring.

Conclusion

We are in a crisis, and we want you all to survive. It will be hard, but it is possible. Go, and may the spirit of all trans people before you go with you.

How Accommodation Sharing Might Work

Donald Trump won the 2024 Presidential election, and since anti-trans rhetoric has been a central plank of both his campaign and the policies behind it, the prospects are not looking good for America’s trans people. Our advice to trans Americans is to leave the USA in any way possible before he has a chance to clamp down, so this document will consider how the trans community in safer parts of the world can ensure that there are adequate support structures in place when that happens. Our target audience today then are trans groups, allies, and activists outside the USA, who will be instrumental in providing that help.

Providing Safe Accommodation

What do we mean when we talk about help and support? Many arrivals from America will have nowhere to go, so safe accommodation will be of the most use to them. We don’t expect that support to spontaneously arise from the wider community as it did with the Ukrainian refugees, instead it’s up to us in the trans community to step up to the plate.

Others will be needed to help them with legal or immigration issues, meanwhile the most important thing for them on arrival will be to know that they will not end up on the streets. This accommodation is, we think, best provided by individuals sharing their spare bedrooms or similar, and not by attempts to set up safe houses. A safe house is a complex thing to set up and get right, and on our travels we have seen more than one with significant problems.

This is too big for a single group

Here at Trans Rescue, we know that our small network will not be anywhere near enough to handle the likely numbers of trans Americans needing help. To provide that support it will be necessary for a much wider coming together of groups and individuals to work in unison. This is a much bigger task than any single group can handle.

It will be difficult for one international body to coordinate their support from a central point, so we think that each country should have its own groups meeting the needs of its arrivals. This could be a single point in the case of a small country, or a grouping of regional or provincial ones in the case of large countries such as Canada.

We would expect that national or regional groups would work with each other in some way at a higher level, indeed we view this cooperation as essential. Our experience shows that when such entities fail to talk to each other it is inevitable that some passengers will disappear in the voids left between them. When lives are at stake there is no room for egos.

How can this be done?

So, who is going to do this? It’s likely that there will be many activists willing to take up the baton, but we’d like to exercise a word of caution about going it alone. This is much too large a task for a single person, particularly one who is learning on the job. Down that road lies burnout and failure, so given the short time available to organise, it’s imperative that people work together.

Whoever does it, the very nature of the job will require an extensive network to be built in a very short time, and the best placed to do this might be some of the existing support structures. Over the last few years we’ve seen very effective activism in the field of trans healthcare, and we’re guessing that groups of that nature might be best placed to provide the necessary networks. Working with local trans support groups that could find the people on the ground with spare capacity, and perhaps more importantly vouch for their not being problematic, they could then match those hosts with their arrivals.

It’s likely that running such an operation will require some significant time from those involved. Far from simply putting up a website to match arrivals with hosts, this will need people to work the phones, maintain the network, check out issues on the ground, and support people wherever they end up. The volunteers running the operation will need to be aware they are making as significant a commitment as taking a second unpaid job for a few months, and it’s important that they do not overwork themselves and burn out.

We think that the trans communities in countries outside the USA can provide this level of support to trans Americans fleeing a Trump presidency. We hope that this document has given something of a pathway by which that can be done, and we are looking forward to working in whatever way we can with whatever groups appear in this space.

When this is eventually over, we all want to be able to look back at a successful operation to help those trans Americans who escaped Trump. Are you ready to join us?