Some Trans People Are Preparing to Flee the US and Seek Asylum Abroad

The national landscape, accompanied by some of her own personal experiences, has made a future in the U.S. feel untenable for Willgohs. “I thought he was going to choke me to death,” she told VICE News. Rynn Azerial Willgohs, a 50-year-old transgender woman, has been rapidly researching ways to flee the United States. Willgohs is considering claiming asylum in Iceland, a country she visited last summer and considers more accepting—and safer—than the U.S. And she felt like being trans was a “non-issue” while there. “All you need to do is look at the news and see how bad it’s going to get in the country,” Willgohs said.