US trans woman challenges Dutch asylum rejection

By Charlotte Van Campenhout

A 28-year-old transgender woman from the U.S. began a legal challenge on Wednesday to the rejection of her asylum application in the Netherlands where she had sought political asylum saying she no longer felt safe in the United States.

Veronica Clifford-Carlos, a visual artist from California, came to the Netherlands - the first country to legalise same-sex marriage and known for its strong protections of LGBT rights - because the Trump administration's policies towards transgender people made her feel unsafe, her lawyer's office said.

The case, the first of its kind in the Netherlands, will be heard in a court in Amsterdam starting Wednesday, with a ruling expected in four to six weeks.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders limiting transgender rights, banned transgender people from serving in the armed forces, and rescinded anti-discrimination policies for LGBTQ+ people.

Dutch advocacy group LGBT Asylum Support, which backs the lawsuit, is currently assisting around 20 U.S. trans individuals with pending asylum claims.

According to data from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), 29 Americans applied for asylum in the Netherlands during the first half of this year. In previous years there were between nine and 18 applicants per year, an IND spokesperson said.

"The IND generally states that discrimination by authorities and fellow citizens can be considered an act of persecution if it is so severe that victims can no longer function socially and societally," LGBT Asylum Support said in a statement.

"But the IND maintains that there are no grounds for exceptional treatment of transgender and queer refugees from the U.S."