Trump’s policies on gender identity and immigration have trans immigrants worried about their future

A month into the new Trump administration, many trans immigrants fear for their safety and their health in the US – and for some, the possibility of deportation.

On an unusually crisp December evening, chatter and laughter reverberated throughout a hall in West Hollywood packed with families and friends. Near the towering Christmas tree, a crowd formed around Bamby Salcedo as flashes of her blazing red suit stood out amongst them. A younger version of Salcedo couldn’t imagine being surrounded with trans immigrants like herself in such a large celebration. When she arrived in the United States about four decades ago, she oscillated between the streets, jail and immigration detention as stable employment and housing was hard to find. Those challenges led her to help start TransLatin@ Coalition, an organization and support network dedicated to trans and gender non-conforming immigrants which has provided a refuge for many. A month into the new Trump administration, Salcedo says the memories of that party do little to soothe her in the face of a government that is working to push her, and others like her, back into the shadows. In the past weeks, she has been focused on preparing to defend transgender immigrants, her community and the people she loves the most, who fear for their safety and their health in the US – and for some, the possibility of deportation. Many trans immigrants say violence and vitriol continued to escalate during the Biden administration, which had some of the highest deportation rates since 2014. Last year, TransLatin@ Coalition’s office received a bomb threat from a man who police say was also planning to attack a Pride parade. But they feel the Trump administration is now singling them out with a level of hostility that wasn’t seen in his previous term.