Not Just Passports: Several Countries Have Issued U.S. Travel Advisories Over Anti-LGBTQ Policies

At least four countries have adjusted their travel guidelines to keep citizens safe from anti-LGBTQ persecution in the United States.

Photo by Phil Mosley on Unsplash

At least four countries have issued some sort of advisory for LGBT travelers to the United States — highlighting the dangers for LGBT Americans and visitors from across the globe.

France, Denmark, Finland, and Germany comprise a growing list of nations who have issued such warnings. For example, French authorities have said that visitors to the U.S. are "strongly recommended" to check the U.S. embassy’s website "for any changes or new measures adopted."

The warnings are the latest in a string of troubling revelations about the freedom of movement for trans travelers at home and abroad. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has taken down its webpage on travel guidance for trans and gender diverse passengers, but an archived version of the website retrieved by Erin in the Morning recommended pursuing a TSA pre-check, calling ahead to confirm you have proper documentation, advocating for yourself by asking for an agent of your preferred gender to perform a pat-down (when necessary), and making note of the TSA’s complaint line.

TSA agents are also trained to recognize disability notification cards, which you can download from the TSA website. These cards can be used to discreetly disclose the possession of medical supplies — such as syringes for Hormone Replacement Therapy — during security checks.

However, according to a memo obtained by the far-right media outlet Newsmax, “transgender officers shall no longer perform pat-downs on travelers.” Regardless of the traveler’s gender, trans employees have been barred from the task, for reasons unclear beyond the fact that the TSA appears to view this as a component of Trump’s anti-trans executive order.

The memo notes that “transgender TSOs [transportation security officers] relieved of pat-down duties will not be adversely affected in their ability to be selected for supervisory positions or receive recognitions, bonuses, performance awards, promotions, or other increases in salary, benefits, or responsibilities.”

But the policy is a slippery slope, and it only appears to serve one purpose: to further disenfranchise transgender people from public life. It could also force trans TSA employees to choose between outing themselves and violating the department policy — the ramifications of which are not wholly clear.

“There are more questions, in many cases, than there are answers,” said Bernie Wagenblast, a veteran transportation reporter. She also said that while TSA agents are most frequently seen at and associated with air travel, their jurisdiction under the law extends to any mass transit system, including railways, highways and waterways. They are an arm of the Department of Homeland Security, which also recently greenlit the targeted surveillance of LGBT people under the Trump regime. “Anything that sets us apart from our peers,” she said, is a problem.

On March 31, 2022 — the International Trans Day of Visibility — then-TSA Administrator David Pekoske announced more trans-friendly reforms to the screening process. "Over the coming months, TSA will move swiftly to implement more secure and efficient screening processes that are gender-neutral, as well as technological updates that will enhance security and make TSA PreCheck enrollment more inclusive,” Pekoske said in a now-deleted press release. “These combined efforts will greatly enhance airport security and screening procedures for all.”

Now, all of the agency’s references to trans people appear to have been purged, and the fate of its efforts to destigmatize trans travelers remains murky.

Erin in the Morning has released an updated trans risk assessment map based on domestic anti-trans policies, such as bathroom bans. At the federal and state levels, the Trump Administration’s alarming restrictions on trans people’s state IDs and passports — such as nullifying “X” gender markers, issuing documents with the wrong sex code, or confiscating/denying such documents altogether — pose serious harm to trans people’s freedom of movement. At U.S. borders, it could trigger additional scrutiny, detention or even deportation; it could harm a trans person’s ability to obtain a valid driver’s license and be free from law enforcement harassment while driving.

Abroad, Americans with passport gender markers that don’t match their gender presentation could find themselves in any number of precarious circumstances caused by being outed as trans by their government ID.

Even more countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have announced general travel advisories for anyone visiting the States who, as the updated guidelines from the U.K. say, “may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules.”

On its surface, this may seem like an unnecessary disclaimer. The idea that crime is illegal is not new. But the advisories serve as a sign of the changing winds: it’s become less safe here for everyone.