In years past, anti-trans bills have been a major target for Texas legislation. Now, federal government officials have enacted anti-trans policies that affect citizens nationwide. Transgender students at Sam Houston State University have recently their fears and experiences of the possible ways the Trump administration will continue to target their rights and freedoms.   

As of this year, 747 bills are under consideration across the country that would negatively impact transgender people. Many express worries of increased violence, harassment, and declining mental health, which are all a result of these bills and the ongoing negative portrayal of queer people promoted to the public. 

Freshman Quinn Jamison is one of many transgender students at SHSU. In his time here, he shares that besides “being called a slur sometimes,” he rarely experiences severe bullying, due to the college campus being a professional and academic setting. Despite this, Jamison recognizes a cultural shift towards increasing transphobia, struggling to approach his identity with others as easily as he once did. 

“I feel like it used to be easy for me to talk to people about being trans … to talk to people about things that were either controversial or that I knew they disagreed with me on, and I don’t feel like it is that way now,” Jamison said. “It feels like the radicalization of normal things, like everything is being blown out of proportion for no reason.” 

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention states that the U.S. is within the early to middle stages of genocide against transgender, nonbinary and intersex citizens. Amongst various measures taken to limit access to healthcare, as well as the defunding of LGBTQ+ research and studies, the changes impact their everyday lives on a wider scale than before. 

Freshman Theo Hill is another transgender student attending SHSU. He’s explored his gender identity socially since 16, attempting and struggling to receive gender-affirming healthcare due to the constant lengthening process and legal limitations.  

When discussing experiences with discrimination, Hill believes that people’s transphobia is an excuse that “allows them to hate,” rather than a safety or scientific concern.  

“If it ain’t immediately in your circle, you don’t actually care—unless it allows you to hate on someone,” Hill said. “I don’t understand how being so hateful to a group of people can bring someone so much life, as it does for transphobes.” 

Harmful Misconceptions 

Jamison shares an experience he had with someone who disagreed with his identity, noting how a lot of transphobia stems from simple misunderstandings.  

“It was like two-three years ago, Trump wasn’t even president, and I had posted something about how they were starting the process of taking away gender-affirming surgery in certain states,” Jamison said. “Someone responded to my [post], and he was like ‘children shouldn’t be getting sex changes, this should be kept away from children.’”  

As of today, 27 states have banned gender-affirming healthcare services for minors, including therapy, medication and surgery. In addition, majority of the states have passed bans prohibiting any gender-affirming surgeries for individuals under the age of 18. 

“I was like ‘Brother, I agree with you.’ And we had a genuine conversation about how not only is that not being pushed to kids, but it literally is mostly impossible for children to get any sort of gender-affirming medical care,” Jamison said. “But the fact that that conversation was two-three years ago … and the narrative that this was being pushed to children was already in society, makes me worried.” 

A major argument in restricting individuals from using the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity is the threat of safety and privacy, in which predators could dress as the opposite sex to prey on minors or women. Hill strongly disagrees with this sentiment. 

“A ‘man’ in a dress is the very least of your concerns. [Predators] don’t need to cross-dress to prey on your kids; they don’t care enough to do that,” Hill said. “There are bigger issues in the system that are leading to the exploitation of your kids. We’ve got bigger problems to solve, but we’re stuck on this same old debate.” 

Recent developments 

Regulations released March 11 by the Federal Register require visa and immigration documentation to align with the applicant’s assigned sex at birth, qualifying anything that does not align as fraudulent paperwork.  

LGBTQ+ organizations and immigration attorneys warn that the change will render transgender travelers to visa denials, delays, airport conflict, detainment or deportation if their documents are not updated to align with the administration’s new definition of sex. 

“Immediately, I think about a woman who presents masculine, who may have a double mastectomy because of cancer, who outwardly looks like a man, but her gender marker says female,” Jamison said. “A jump to conclusions might get her detained, or things like that.” 

The updates to federal procedures were made through executive orders from President Donald J. Trump, mirroring the topic of conversation that has circled through the administration over the past month. According to LGBTQ+ advocates, the new ruling opens the door to a major increase in transgender harassment, extending to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) jurisdiction on the basis of “identity fraud.”  

“I can’t even think about if I would be in danger,” Hill said. “Like, I could be perfectly fine, I could go about my life never seeing an ICE agent, or I could be jumped in the street tomorrow. No idea.” 

Many feel that a citizen’s gender orientation and changes in gender-marker should not be within ICE jurisdiction. Jamison shares this sentiment. 

“Why the hell is immigration enforcement getting involved with people’s gender and sex on paper? That’s just straight-up not their job,” Jamison said. “There is no reason that someone shouldn’t be able to put down what they want out of a select few options.” 

Concerns for the future 

Jamison believes that threatening transgender rights is just the first step. He shares how the reversal could proceed in “a domino effect,” with further freedoms being revoked. 

“They first roll back trans rights, and then they’ll roll back gay rights, and then they’ll roll back women’s rights,” Jamison said. “Like, it just keeps going. They’re basically seeing how far they can go.”