Transgender asylum seekers
[1] Because of their gender non-conformity, transgender asylum seekers face elevated risks to their mental and physical health compared to cisgender asylum seekers or those whose gender identity is the same as their sex assigned at birth, including higher risks of physical and sexual assault, torture, "conversion therapy" practices, and forced isolation.
[4]: 8–9 Regardless of anti-transgender laws, the strict gender norms that exist in many countries, associating masculinity with men and femininity with women, perpetuate the violence faced by transgender refugees.
In their place of origin, Mexico, each asylum seeker faced some levels of verbal, physical, and sexual assault, an unstable environment, fear for their safety and security, and economic insecurity.
In addition, asylum seekers reported moving multiple times to escape harassment, discrimination, and abuse or to find a more LGBT-inclusive environment, creating a lot of environmental instability.
Finally, each asylum seeker reported leaving Mexico because of extreme fear of violence and death since many of them had friends who, because of their identities, were beaten, raped, or even murdered.
[6] A 2020 public health review determined that transgender women seeking asylum from Mexico were fleeing a situation of "extreme vulnerability.
[1] Additionally, to claim asylum transgender refugees must produce proof of persecution, which often requires them to retell experiences of trauma through categories such as gender reassignment, sex assigned at birth, their dead name, hormone therapy, etc.
Because of this reliance, some transgender refugees are placed in detention centers based on their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity.
Globally, asylum laws leave LGBT refugee detainees "particularly susceptible to heightened levels of physical and mental abuse.
[14][15][16] According to the ASPIDH Rainbow Trans Association, a transgender woman seeking asylum in the United States was killed in El Salvador weeks after her request was denied.
"[3] The violence and discrimination faced by transgender persons create these adverse, dangerous, outcomes if they are denied asylum and required to return to their home countries.
[17] The Williams Institute reported in 2022 that transgender asylum seekers may be disproportionately harmed by detention practices and face sustained mental health challenges as a result.
Since 2000, the United States has recognized transgender asylum seekers as a social group that deserves protection on the basis of gender identity.
