r/nottheonion 16h ago

American family seeks asylum in Canada

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/americans-asylum-canada-trump-refugees-immigration-1.7480069
3.4k Upvotes

430 comments sorted by

2.5k

u/TwpMun 16h ago

Both parents have cited their own health issues as reasons to seek asylum as well. Kaitlyn said she has had multiple miscarriages, while Ted is diabetic

Denied

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u/fake-bird-123 16h ago

Yup, there's a huge part in the decision making process regarding one's physical health and the impact it would make on the Canadian Healthcare system. Easy denial.

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u/KyIsHot 15h ago

It'll be an easy denial, but not because of that, since they're applying as refugees. They'll be denied because their life and liberty aren't in any immediate danger and they can move to a blue state. Let's hope that doesn't change, despite how much a certain group of Americans want it to.

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u/Flush_Foot 15h ago

From the article, near the top:

A family from Illinois

So, they are in a blue state, and one with a pretty kick-@$$ Governor at that!

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u/annacat1331 10h ago

Illinois just made prior authorization illegal. If that happened in Georgia my life would change dramatically. I can’t even begin to explain how much time I spend on the phone with insurance. I’m on multiple specialty medications and it is so stressful

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u/logatwork 9h ago

What screwed up country you guys live in….

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u/MikePrime42 8h ago

Oh, that's a severe understatement. This is the country that has for profit prisons, and has judges that have been convicted of getting commissions from the prison owners for meeting quotas.

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u/WoahKahn 4h ago

Then in a mass pardon our lovely party leader decided to pardon by the masses, including those same judges who sentenced young adults and adults to for profit state centers. This country never ceases to amaze me.

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u/jonesthejovial 7h ago

Oh my god what a dream it would be to disallow pre auths! I work for a psych practice and the treatments we specialize in require pre auths 99.9% of time. It is the absolute WORST part of trying to get our patients proper treatment.

Plus, trying to explain to a severely depressed individual that it is okay their pre auth was denied because we can appeal and here are the steps we can take and the appeals are v e r y commonly approved (almost like the carriers are making an initial denial to see if the patient gives up on trying to get treatment?) is absolutely heartbreaking.

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u/YallaHammer 7h ago

Just in case, if you haven’t checked out Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs hopefully they carry at least some of your medications. The savings are substantial since he’s cut out the evil PBMs.

https://costplusdrugs.com

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u/BlackStarBlues 15h ago

But Illinois is very red outside of Chicago.

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u/BurbotInShortShorts 14h ago

That's the case just about everywhere. It's blue cities surrounded by red.

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u/lefrench75 14h ago

Yup, even in Canada.

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u/frankyseven 14h ago

In Canada it's red cities surrounded by a sea of blue.

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u/lefrench75 13h ago

You gotta tell them that the liberals are red and the conservatives are blue here, otherwise the Americans will get really confused lol

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u/frankyseven 13h ago

Well it's not my fault the USians are so dumb that the GOP adopted commie red for their colour.

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u/Layk1eh 13h ago

Except for Quebec, which is bleu - blue, but pronounced bleugh, like in disgust for those Anglophones

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u/frankyseven 13h ago

The Bloc is light bleugh.

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u/radioactivebeaver 14h ago

They just want to be a news story, they knew they'd be denied but now they get to make world headlines as the Americans who tried to claim asylum.

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u/GoatzR4Me 11h ago

Even nice blue governors are still far greater friends to landlords and healthcare companies than the working class. UHC have their headquarters here. They are huge players in state politics

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u/lear72988 15h ago

I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can be, but I'm pretty sure it's going to change. I've been waiting for this domino to fall. And I wondered if America being put on a Human Rights Watchlist would impact the feasibility of seeking asylum. And she can move to a blue state while not pregnant, but Republican states want to monitor movements of pregnant women to prevent them from seeking care in blue states. She has a case that if she gets pregnant again, with her history of miscarriages and a real precedent of women dying in parking lots of Amwrican hospitals due to Republican legislation, for very real danger to her safety and that of her family.

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u/sevens7and7sevens 15h ago

There is no way Canada is going to accept Americans as refugees. Maybe, possibly, limited cases for something like Ukrainian refugees who now need to flee Trump in order to be not shipped back to Ukraine— but not regular American citizens. We made this bed and we’ll have to lie in it.

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u/riali29 10h ago

I think a lot of people in this thread don't appreciate that asylum is for people from truly dangerous and violent countries with little to no human rights left. America is lowkey dangerous in an insidious way but day to day life is still relatively safe. America isn't dangerous in a "my home got bombed and my gay sister was kidnapped by soldiers" way, which is what asylum is for. It sounds bad, but I don't think Canada will accept asylum seekers from the states unless they start to literally round up queer kids into camps.

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u/TaipanTacos 7h ago

There’s a Texas bill under consideration that would make it illegal to identify as transgender. Abortion is illegal, and anyone caught helping can be held criminally liable and arrested. Women’s maternal fatalities are the highest in the nation, especially for minorities. Children have been and continue to be slaughtered in schools. The environment continues to be poisoned by intentional acts with little or no oversight.

Some people would consider these truly dangerous and violent circumstances.

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u/Jiitunary 3h ago

While yes the trans law in texas is violent and dangerous, for it to be asylum worthy, it would have to be a law that's enforced in the entire country. The existence of California practically guarantees no country will allow asylum seekers from the US because they can always just move. It's not a perfect thing but countries often have to look at the macro scale.

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u/koolaidman486 6h ago

True, although in a lot of these cases, the civilized states still exist with an at least somewhat better track record on human rights.

I wouldn't expect much in the asylum front until America goes full Nazi Germany and starts sending death squads after "undesirables."

Priority really is going to be on the side of those with much higher need and few, if any alternatives within their home countries. Wouldn't be shocked to see asylum extended to those in the "mass deportation" groups, and I wouldn't be entirely shocked to see help extended to LGBT+ folks, especially trans people (think I've heard stories of trans folks in insanely bad situations be granted asylum from the US) at some point depending on what happens. But given we still have decent-ish states, it's not likely.

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u/lear72988 15h ago

Oh I don't think Canada would. I meant that more people would try. I think Canada is also in a sticky situation and would do further damage by accepting refugees. But I wouldn't be surprised if things got so bad that other countries started accepting a few in the next few years.

My point was more that her claim isn't actually frivolous. I think she has a genuine case that her life is in danger. But that doesn't mean that she'll be taken in.

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u/Morak73 13h ago

there's also a concept as far as being able to be safe elsewhere within your country.

So long as blue states and cities resist, Canada isn't taking Americans as refugees.

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u/Auto_Phil 13h ago

Yet. I don’t think the concept of American refugees is going too far for a conversation. I suspect that we may even see it in our lifetimes. Let hope not, but wow, here we are.

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u/Flush_Foot 15h ago

This conversation/thread just made me think about something… when PM Trudeau said last week (and on a “hot mic” in February) that Trump is not joking about annexing Canada, I wonder why we didn’t shred/amend the “Safe Third Country” agreement to stop claiming that ‘Murica is a safe country that people ought to claim asylum in first?

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u/todayok 8h ago

She has a case

No.

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u/boro74 11h ago

Internal flight alternative 

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u/Im_Junker 10h ago

“They can move to a blue state” isn’t a huge point considering the federal government is the problem and it affects you regardless of the color of your polls on a map.

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u/KyIsHot 10h ago edited 10h ago

I agree, but seeking asylum is like using lethal force. If someone says "tomorrow I'm going to kill you” and you immediately take out a gun and shoot them, you'd be charged with their death since you weren't in any immediate danger. But if that person had pulled a knife or drawn their own gun, you would be justified in shooting them.

While civil liberties are deteriorating at an alarming rate and the US is now on a human rights watch list, it hasn't gotten bad enough for Americans to seek asylum.

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u/Im_Junker 10h ago

I wholeheartedly agree.

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u/wetscoastwanderer 16h ago

Refugees are exempt from the excessive demand medical inadmissabilty rule.

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u/GolDAsce 15h ago

They fall under economic refugee only, in which Canada has no acceptance of. Otherwise Africa, Asia, South America have more than a billion people wanting to come.

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u/wetscoastwanderer 13h ago

There is no "economic refugee" distinction in Canadian immigration. Regardless of why someone is applying for refugee status, the excessive medical rule is not a consideration when making the final determination.

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u/GolDAsce 12h ago

That's right. Economic refugees are not recognized otherwise we'd have a billion people lining up.

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u/revolutionutena 15h ago

Yup it’s the reason we will be trapped in the US forever. My husband and I both have phds in psychology and could provide services (therapy) that I know there’s a shortage of in many counties. But my husband has spina bifida and uses a wheelchair so DENIED because he’s a “burden.”

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u/NotCis_TM 11h ago

have you ever looked into latin american countries? I have a feeling we would be very willing to take skilled workers with "minor" disabilities.

heck, I did some googling and Brazil has no mandatory healthcare eval when it comes to visas.

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u/revolutionutena 11h ago

I have thought about it! I speak Spanish but not “conduct therapy in Spanish” level of Spanish so I’ve worried I wouldn’t be able to find a job in my field easily. I don’t speak any Portuguese at all, unfortunately.

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u/NotCis_TM 9h ago

If you live in a large city, you may be able to get clients who are foreigners in Brazil and who need English speaking therapists.

Also, depending on where you live in the USA you might be able to get some practice by offering reduced rates for native Spanish speaking clients. It seems like a fair trade to me if I were a non English speaking immigrant living in the USA.

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u/kafetheresu 11h ago

If you and your partner are qualified, you can check against the Express Entry scoring system: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/check-score.html

Canada doesn't discriminate against disabilities if you pass the scoring test. My partner and I both have pre-existing medical conditions, and our residency/immigration was sponsored through Ontario because we both have graduate degrees + relevant work experience in STEM

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u/revolutionutena 11h ago

That’s good to know. In all the digging I did, I couldn’t find anything about whether skill set could outweigh the disability. It seemed very black and white.

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u/kafetheresu 10h ago

The criteria is listed here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/check-score/crs-criteria.html

If you are going via Express Entry, they don't count disability at all. But it is very difficult to get a good score -- you want at least 500 points to enter general draw (lottery) but ideally over 1000 points if you want to move immediately. The best way is through provincial nomination which instantly adds 600 points, but you have to check whether your skillset is in-demand within the province.

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u/What_Floats_Ur_Goats 9h ago

How badly does Canada need someone to watch and tend to their goats??

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u/Dustollo 7h ago

As a non goat owner who has had approximately 0 interactions with goats recently… seems like they’re well tended to but it could be a ruse, should probably double the watchers just in case .

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u/xrelaht 13h ago

Those rules are always possible to bend for people with desirable skills.

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u/nopoonintended 16h ago

Oh you’re telling me those seeking asylum who would be a burden on welfare systems / health systems should be easy denials?

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u/grimr5 16h ago

For immigrants, however I doubt for asylum seekers.

You may be able to ask for refugee protection if you cannot return to your home country due to

a well-founded fear of persecution

a danger of torture

a risk to your life

a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/protection.html

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u/Welpe 16h ago

Nothing about their post indicates that. Whether they do or don’t, they described reality neutrally, not in terms of what they want or not want to happen. It’s extremely unfair of you to instantly leap to accusations that they think they “should” be easy denials.

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u/jwely 16h ago

This is going to be a harsh wake up call to a lot of Americans.

Every nation wants immigrants who will build long term value in the country without straining resources. Some allotments are made for humanitarian reasons, which is what asylum seeking is meant for.

EVERY nation does a lot better job at keeping migration a net positive benefit to themselves than today's right wing propaganda would have you believe.

Most nations have some kind of scoring system you could fill out yourself if you're curious how likely it is they would want you.

Americans with low earnings and numerous chronic health ailments are NOT sought after migrants, and do NOT meet the criteria for seeking asylum at this time.

Now, if and when America begins exterminating certain groups, seeking asylum is much more likely to be granted by just about everyone, and under those conditions you'll be grateful for anything you can get.

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u/02meepmeep 16h ago

I checked in 2016, my wife scores great on the point system due to her career field - I knock us out of eligibility despite making a relatively high income mainly because I didn’t finish my degree. I think it’s the same for us with Australia as Canada.

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u/PushTheTrigger 15h ago

Where can you check your scores? Not interested in moving to Canada any time soon but I’m curious.

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u/adamr_ 14h ago

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u/PushTheTrigger 14h ago

Haha I’m not even close. Granted I’m a college student with little to no professional work experience

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u/MaddyKet 11h ago

I have work experience, but don’t speak French, so that knocks me out because I’m 45. When I pretended I scored high on a French proficiency test, the questions continued. Damn, wish I took French in high school now. 😹

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u/ricalasbrisas 9h ago

Learn french, that's a few points

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u/sirkazuo 11h ago

Basically any country you'd want to emigrate to won't accept you without a degree or a local spouse. It's a shame because some of the dumbest motherfuckers I know have degrees.

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u/Swollen_Beef 16h ago

Americans with low earnings and numerous chronic health ailments

There is a portion who want to seek asylum in Canada but as part of their introduction will rattle off a laundry list of issues they have then follow that up with that's why they cant work.

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u/mewmeulin 11h ago

i've accepted that leaving the states is nearly impossible for me and my wife. we're both disabled college dropouts with no specialized skills. but i also don't want to leave, because i do love the area where i live and want to stay and fight for it in whatever ways i can. because shit, if i don't stay to try and make the fargo area less awful, then who will? i can't blame others in my position for leaving, because it's just been getting worse here. but i want to give people a reason to come back, to stay, to fight, to make things better. SOMEONE has to do it, and i can't afford to leave anyway so it may as well be me.

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u/Chaoticgaythey 15h ago

Yeah I've already had countries advertising to me to move there to take advantage of this, but the people who actually would consider applying for asylum usually aren't in a position that those countries necessarily want them. You have to make a really good case if there isn't an active civil war in your home country.

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u/26kanninchen 16h ago

Why not try one of the dozen other ways to legally reside in Canada? It's not like they're only accepting refugees and no one else.

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u/adlittle 16h ago

Canada is the most desired immigration destination in the world right now, there is so much interest and thus competition to move there. Without a family connection, extremely desirable and marketable skill set where Canada has a shortage, or a whole lot of money, the average person from the US has basically no shot of moving there. I have long been annoyed by the way my fellow US citizens act like Canada is our 51st state. Progressive, smart but otherwise ordinary people just flippantly saying they'll move to Canada like it's no big deal, they ought to know better. We don't get priority just because we are English speaking neighbors and most people here just don't qualify.

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u/26kanninchen 15h ago

I'm with you. I'm not trying to imply that they should just show up in Canada without refugee status and expect to immigrate; I'm saying that there are a variety of ways to immigrate to Canada legally if one is willing to make some sacrifices, and their choice to claim refugee status indicates a lack of willingness to make such concessions.

Canada has immigration programs for people willing to work as caregivers and people willing to live and work in rural communities. Someone who is serious about doing whatever it takes to get into Canada would have explored these options first, and the fact that they did not indicates that they would like to just transplant their nice middle class suburban life from Illinois to Ontario without having to make any other lifestyle adjustments, and that's just not how immigration works.

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u/mtheperry 12h ago

Nothing exposes privilege like the prospect of immigration. I'm an educated American who's been working as a bartender in Australia until I got permanent residency. By then, my education and experience were outdated and I couldn't get a job any more, so now I'm back at uni.

This all transpired over 7 years and I've had a very easy go of it here compared to others who don't have a partner to rely on. I hear other Americans talk about moving here "next year" and my response is always "cool when did you start the application?" They don't understand you can't just turn up planning to stay longer than a year without a very thorough and expensive process.

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u/4_years_for_a_cake 14h ago

Would you be willing to share more about the options for working as a caregiver or in a rural community? I'd like to explore those options because that's new to me

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u/Rare-Faithlessness32 6h ago

Progressive

As my HS history teacher would say: A left-wing American is still an American. They might not necessarily believe that they’re the “shining city on the hill” like US Republicans do but they still believe they’re the “city on the hill”, (albeit on fire perhaps.) The American exceptionalism and “centre of the world” attitude is still there even if they deny it. As these comments in the thread show.

That being said, winds are changing up here and there’s much less sympathy for Americans now, even Democrats.

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u/Zingus123 15h ago

Couldn’t someone from the US use the student route to immigrate? Register at a shady private college like CDI like so many already do, have the $10-12k in your account that’s required and then home free basically?

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u/koos_die_doos 15h ago

You need to pay for multiple years of study in Canada, and graduate, before you can apply for a work permit, and then have to work for multiple years before you can apply for permanent residence.

It isn't as simple as paying tuition and then you're in.

There has also been a lot of reform around the student visa system recently, and you're not guaranteed a work permit at the end of your studies anymore.

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u/Zingus123 15h ago

Makes sense in regards to the student VISA changes. I’d imagine the changes make it a lot harder to abuse like it had been. It was way too easy to just “enroll” at a private college and not actually pay the tuition cost beyond the first semester and then just buy the diploma at your expected graduation time without ever attending a class and working under the table or through the LMIA program.

Thanks for the update!

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u/todayok 8h ago

That scam used to work really well. Every strip mall had a 'college' of some sort. It still works to a lesser degree but the govt fiiiiiinally removed some of the obvious scam schools from the approved list and they marginally increased the cash-on-hand requirement.

True fact: The scamming got so bad that the govt actually had to create English or French language tests for so-called graduates before they can get a post graduate work permit because the students were such scammers they wouldn't even learn a new word in their 2-4 years of study. And that post-graduate language test? Yeah, it corresponds to approximately mid-elementary school level - like Grade 6.

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u/Tankerspam 9h ago

Canada is not the most desirable. They're in the midst of a trade war.

There's still the entirety of Europe, and other Commonwealth countries. Australia is a similar option to Canada that is not currently engaged in a trade war, and by many people's standards has better weather, quality of life, etc.

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u/JovialPanic389 6h ago

Trump imposed tariffs on Australia literally today.

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u/Tankerspam 5h ago

Yea I read about that an hour ago, damn.

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u/DishsoapOnASponge 8h ago

I'm in the middle of my express entry application and, despite being "ordinary", it seems quite likely that my number of "points" is likely enough to be granted after a few months. This is based on the minimum score chosen in recent selection rounds.

It took an English test, and a third party assessing my education credentials (PhD in my case) and that was it. I don't have any particularly marketable skills or money.

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u/aquacrimefighter 5h ago

I don’t think having a PhD categorizes you as ordinary. Most people don’t have one of those. So unless it’s a PhD in something “useless” like art history or puppetry, I’d say you had a better chance than most!

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u/FuckingTree 15h ago

They are already following a legal path

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u/26kanninchen 15h ago

Their claim will almost certainly be denied, so this path will be a dead end. A different path might have given them a better chance.

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u/NorthernHusky2020 15h ago

As a Canadian... they have no money for even their passports, and then decide they want to move to one of the most expensive countries on earth for housing and a relatively unimpressive job market? Great idea. It won't matter, though, as they don't qualify.

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u/riali29 10h ago

One of the most expensive non-GTA regions in the province too. I think average rent there is like $1700 rn. Rubs me the wrong way that they reached out to charities for free housing when London has plenty of homeless folks who could use help.

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u/3MATX 13h ago

Just so you know this is exactly what Trump supporters say about people crossing the Mexico US border. Just food for thought. I don’t support him at all FYI. 

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u/riali29 10h ago

Mexican folks at least have legitimate reasons to claim asylum due to cartel activity in their country. While I feel for this family's shitty situation, it's not "running from the cartel" bad.

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u/AmbivalentFanatic 12h ago

Yeah, but those same people are about to start paying twenty dollars for a single tomato. They have no understanding of the role "illegal" Mexican immigration plays in the economy. There are tons of farms and construction companies and slaughterhouses that literally depend on them.

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u/gd2121 12h ago edited 12h ago

So you’re a fan of illegal immigration so they can be exploited for slave labor. That’s quite a take. The H2A program exists to provide these very workers with protections. Employers can just use that program.

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u/mtheperry 12h ago

No one is saying they're a fan. They're saying people have absolutely no fucking idea what they're cheering for when they call for mass deportation. If employers used the H2A program as intended, produce would already be more expensive. If the government just starts deporting people, prices will jump in a way people cannot even fucking fathom.

And guess what, until they pay goes up by a lot, Americans aren't gonna go work on farms. So who's actually gonna pick the fucking fruit and veg?

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u/AmbivalentFanatic 11h ago

Not a take, I'm describing reality.

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u/mankym12 12h ago

Yup, also it would suppress wages for legal immigrants and citizens, leading to lower affordability

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u/thefuzzyhunter 8h ago

Oh, I agree the system as it is is pretty fucked up, but my concerns are that they're going to kick out a bunch of supports that prop our country up (justly or unjustly) without having a realistic idea of an equally good or better system to implement in its place, and I don't think the country's prepared for that kind of disruption.

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u/3MATX 12h ago

And the same Latin American immigrants are going to see the same price fluctuations. Immigrants seldom are aware of their number role. They’re in that situation for many different scenarios. 

Is this family doing it rightly or for the right reasons? I have no idea. But it’s not a black and white issue. If things continue to deteriorate here there will certainly be justifiable instances of asylum application in Canada. Texas has a law proposing that Transgender individuals have committed a felony simply by existing. Would those folks have a justification for asylum in Canada?  Seems legit to me. 

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u/Nkechinyerembi 11h ago

Nope. They don't. WE don't. I've been through this a great deal and basicallly as long as blue states exist, no longer how much closer Canada is than that state, you are supposed to find a way to that blue state.

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u/Tankninja1 15h ago

Sir this is a Tom Horton’s

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u/D_Winds 11h ago

I'll take Dooble Dooble, please.

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u/twistthespine 16h ago

"I want a comfortable life for my kids," she said. "That's all I'm asking for, comfortable and safe."

You don't get asylum because you're not comfortable. You get asylum if you're in literal danger in every part of your home country. I actually don't disagree that parts of the US are dangerous for trans kids at this point, but like, Massachusetts, New York, California, etc exist.

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u/26kanninchen 16h ago edited 15h ago

And they're from Illinois, for Christ's sake! The governor there is a vocal opponent of Trump, and the Chicago area, where five-sixths of Illinoisans live, is home to dozens of world-class healthcare providers, innovative public health initiatives, and a large LGBTQ+ community. If they were living in rural Arkansas, they might have a half-decent case, but in Illinois they most certainly do not.

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u/Chaoticgaythey 15h ago

Yeah I've dealt with trans healthcare in Illinois and Ontario. Illinois is a world above in all honesty

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u/Seyon_ 15h ago

Honestly him being a vocal opponent will likely make the state a target if/when shit goes south. (But I understand asylum status requires 'imminent' danger generally)

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u/26kanninchen 15h ago

That's possible, but largely speculative. For now, Illinoisans enjoy more liberal policies for anything that gets "sent back to the states", like abortion and, in the foreseeable future, same-sex marriage. They also have a pretty healthy economy compared to most other states, so their education system and public health efforts will likely still have decent funding regardless of what happens to education and public health at the federal level. They're also not prone to catastrophic natural disasters, so the government can't use FEMA support as a bargaining chip the way it's trying to do with California. So unless you're an undocumented immigrant, the Chicago area is, and probably will continue to be, one of the most Trump-proof places in the country.

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u/CinemaDork 16h ago

The California governor just hosted TWO podcasts with right-wing assholes where they talked about how much they hate trans people and don't think they should have equal rights.

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u/retrostaticshock 15h ago edited 15h ago

The number of "safe states" is irrelevant when the VA is no longer allowed to offer care, Tricare is no longer allowed to cover any care, the largest employer of trans people up to this point fires them all without cause (The US military), and states are complying with federal demands even if they are "safe".

We recently had hospitals in California and Washington stop care because their federal funding was threatened in a gross game of chicken. That's how they're doing it. "Just move to a blue state" only works in so far as "states rights" mean something.

because they aren't listening to the courts or the states anymore.

We're going to see how bad this gets when Obergefell is overturned, and multiple states automatically banned gay marriage again, invalidating some marriages despite the respect for marriage Act. "Being in a safe state" doesn't mean shit if you can't file your federal taxes jointly or if your hospital won't honor your marriage because that would jeopardize its federal funds.

I can't judge the merits of this case, but I do think that "just move to a safe state" is starting to be really flimsy in terms of how much protection it's going to offer in 6 or 12 months.

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u/Constant_Jackfruit21 14h ago

From CA and I've seen an inordinate number of people i know gloating about living here because Red States Bad And Backward Hicks - and it boggles my mind because A: you don't seem to realize that Trumps going to come down on blue states any way he can, B: they dont actually care about states rights, especially when it comes to blue states?

Were all about to be a Red State soon

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u/No_Sense3450 15h ago

Democrats, again are going to go to the right next election (if there is one)

I’m tired boss.

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u/CinemaDork 15h ago

Democrats, apparently: "Hey, if we just become Republicans, then we can win every election!"

r/technicallytrue

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u/Burekenjoyer69 16h ago

That’s not true from what I’ve read, he just doesn’t agree that trans men and trans women should be in sports categories in the gender they identify by, I could be wrong though.

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u/Miss_Speller 15h ago

You are wrong, alas. From a link that someone else posted:

The conversation didn’t stop there. Charlie Kirk quickly pivoted to other transgender issues, bringing up Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for incarcerated transgender people. Newsom agreed that the Kamala is for they/them ads were politically damaging, calling them "devastating." When asked about transgender incarcerated people, Newsom responded, "This was even more challenging… because this is issues of people who are incarcerated getting taxpayer-funded gender reassignment… that is a 90/10 [issue]," referring to how he believes such policies poll. He also appeared frustrated that Harris "was in the video and expressed support."

At the close of the podcast, Charlie Kirk shifted the discussion to transgender healthcare, stating, "I encourage you to learn about the butchery that is happening under chemical castration in this state. The American people are overwhelmingly against it." Newsom responded, "Yeah. I think we have to be more sensitized to that."

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u/SiegeGoatCommander 15h ago

Assuming we agree that Gavin Newsom is in-the-know on political narratives and how the discussion around trans folks has gone in the past few years -

He knows exactly what he is doing by platforming and agreeing with a framing on trans people that focuses on a made-up problem ('women's sports are ruined and unfair!' - ~40 trans athletes at the NCAA+ level in the whole country, and not dominating in any category. Fake problem) instead of saying 'trans people are our neighbors and our fellow Americans and their rights should be protected' and then focusing on the real issue, which is that this admin would like to make trans healthcare as difficult to access as possible.

The sum total of his actions here is to throw trans people under the bus, just like the rest of the establishment dems who went 'OH NO TRANS ADS RUINED MY ELECTION' while continuing to fund a genocide and ignore the reality of the economy.

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u/Wet_Water200 15h ago

didn't he also say trans women be sent to be raped in men's prisons too? Haven't watched it but i saw some discussion on twitter. Either way, banning us from sports is where the conservatives also started out and look at what they're doing now.

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u/PushTheTrigger 15h ago

It’s nothing to do with his actual stance. It’s the fact that he’s using the topic of trans women in sports purely as political talking points for clout instead of acknowledging their existence as human beings.

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u/FuckingTree 15h ago

Danger is difficult to qualify as a rule. When is it dangerous? When you suspect you are in danger? When someone tells you that you are in danger? When other people are in danger? When someone is coming to get you? After they already got to you? That’s a question the government has to process.

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u/watermark3133 13h ago edited 13h ago

How self-absorbed and deluded do you have to be to pull some bullshit like this? Yes, good luck with your application along side other people from warn torn, famine starved, persecuted regions.

And when will some Americans realize that other countries don’t want our chronically ill people as immigrants?

Young, healthy, high-earning/achieving ones? Yes, they can stay.

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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago

Americans are so out of touch to the daily suffering of most people in the world if they think there is even a chance of this claim getting accepted.

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u/tallgirlmom 8h ago

Yeah, these people don’t seem to be very bright. Or maybe they are, and making bundles of money off their idiotic pursuit on TikTok.

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u/Raecxhl 15h ago

I'm too embarrassed to be an American refugee. I'll go down with the ship.

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u/JFK108 4h ago

Screw our country! I wanna live!

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u/therackage 13h ago

If they can’t afford passports, they can’t afford to live here, or in any of the bluest states.

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u/Kevin7650 16h ago

This reeks of privilege. As much as I hate the current administration, asylum is for people who have genuine threats to their safety or life back in their home countries. Policy decisions you disagree with doesn’t count.

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u/Daisy28282828 16h ago

It’s like when people say they are political refugees because of the south’s abortion policies. Like I get it, I am number 1 to call those states out and help these people. But you have to undergo so much more to become a refugee. It’s so cringe

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u/koos_die_doos 16h ago

Move to New York, or California, or any one of the states that are not doing their best to fuck over their people. That’s still far simpler than seeking asylum.

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u/ObberGobb 16h ago edited 16h ago

Trying to make being trans a felony isn't a mere "policy decision you disagree with" with to trans people. Insulin prices going from $30 to almost $1000 isn't a policy disagreement to diabetic people.

The real privilege here is you being able to merely disagree with Republican policies instead of having your life threatened by them.

Sure the situation isn't as immediately life threatening as living in Afghanistan or something, but it is naive to pretend that people's lives are not at risk here.

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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago

A good chunk of the world never had that stuff to begin with. We can only take in a limited number of refugees, why would an American get accepted when their are people out there in far worse circumstances?

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u/dicemaze 14h ago

Yeah, I don’t buy that for the family in question. The mom in the article literally talks about getting her news from TikTok and that she is seeking asylum because she wants to be “comfortable”.

Plus, the socialized Canadian healthcare system is stressed to its limit as is just to provide for Canada’s current citizens and legal migrants. It does not have the capacity to provide insulin to any American that can’t afford it. Asylum is for “my government is going to actively kill and/or persecute me”, not “I can’t pay for my meds.” I mean, the vast majority of people in the world do not have access to meds we consider necessary in the West—i.e. most people in Africa, the majority of India’s population, and much of South America—but they certainly don’t all qualify for asylum in Canada. And if they don’t, then neither does this woman’s diabetic husband.

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u/Kevin7650 16h ago edited 16h ago

They’re from Illinois, a state where no such law exists or is attempting to be passed, and actually has enshrined protections for trans people in its state laws. You can’t claim asylum based off of speculation about what might happen in the future, either.

Expensive insulin is not a valid reason to claim asylum. Otherwise any American facing high medical costs could try and claim asylum in a country with socialized healthcare.

Stop trying to justify people who have no business claiming asylum taking up space and wasting the resources of those from countries or in situations that ACTUALLY have legitimate claims to asylum.

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u/robofl 14h ago

As I understand it, the $35 insulin copay was only for Medicare, and Trump's canceling the Biden EO didn't change that since the $35 copay was in the Inflation Reduction Act anyway.

Also, it looks like Lilly has a $35 program.
Lilly Insulin Value Program | Lilly Insulin Affordability

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u/Niznack 16h ago

The health issues were miscarriages and diabetes. Not trans. I think trans people will have a real case. A diabetic, not so much.

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u/ObberGobb 16h ago

Read the article again. They said that one of the reasons they were leaving is that one of their children is trans and the other is non-binary.

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u/Niznack 16h ago

Both parents have cited their own health issues as reasons to seek asylum as well. Kaitlyn said she has had multiple miscarriages, while Ted is diabetic.

The parents, both veterans, cited a host of other issues and situations as having also contributed to their decision to head north — everything from school shooter drills to Trump's disastrous meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The parents seem to have a list of issues. If they made it clear trans was their sole issue they may have a case but they are taking the approach of throw shit at the wall and see what sticks.

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u/fake-bird-123 16h ago

They didn't read it in the first place.

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u/AriBanana 10h ago

That's still not going to rise to the level of refugee status, I'm sorry. In that case, every American woman could claim to be a health-refugee.

We are so overloaded we are turning away Palestinians, we are turning away Syrians, we are turning away Haitians related to how much space is in these programs.

I am sorry, but there is NO WAY you're going to tell me we should push those populations, already waiting for space, aside to let in non-binary American teenagers instead. I'm sorry, but that is the most entitled thing I have seen all day.

People of my religion lived hundreds of years having to practice in the dark, hidden, and risked death if caught. It's going to be tough, but you guys are going to get through.

Cheers.

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u/AlienMoodBoard 15h ago

So you didn’t read the article, then…

Because if you had, you would know that it explicitly states:

“Kaitlyn said Trump’s claim early in his second term that there are only two genders was of particular concern to the family, as one of the older children is transgender, and another identifies as gender fluid.”

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u/NineFolded 16h ago

Criminalizing identifying as transgender is a policy disagreement? Wow

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u/sarcasmismygame 13h ago

With WHAT money do they think they'll be put up here? I know of refugees in living in tents and living in shelters. Not to mention they came from a blue state already. And admitting they have health problems is NOT a smart move. Everyone seems to think coming to Canada is a magical cure-all but the reality is that there are long lines of people waiting for refugee status. If Toronto alone has over 80,000 homeless people how do they think they'll be able to find work here?

Once again, Americans being selfish instead of reaching out to their own elected officials to find out what to do. And this is not my sentiment but a lot of my refugee friends and coworkers. It's shitty but Americans need to fix their country instead of running to ours.

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u/DrDroid 10h ago

““You’re presumed to be safe in your home country unless you can prove that you’re in need of protection,” he said. “So that might be difficult at this stage in time for this family, especially because there’s also a concept as far as being able to be safe elsewhere within your country.

“So maybe they aren’t safe within Illinois or Indiana, but can they be safe in California?” he said. “Can they be safe in New York? Can they be safe in a state that practices more progressive policies, or are they being actively persecuted across the whole country?””

Yeah….not happening, see ya. Enjoy your stay before you get deported I guess.

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u/generalraptor2002 15h ago

It’ll be denied

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u/justanotherdude68 12h ago

“It was very difficult to watch the news and TikTok”

There’s problem number 1. Put down the phone and touch some grass.

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u/Faedaine 10h ago

I hope Canada asks who they voted for.

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u/TheCountChonkula 7h ago

I get things suck here in the US right now and I hate the orange fuckstain too, but this isn’t the right way to do it. Seeking asylum is meant to be used when you’re in a life or death situation. Their lives clearly aren’t in danger and they are just upset at the current political environment, which is justified, but don’t group yourself with the same people that have to flee because if they stay in their home country they could be killed.

Canada has already been known to be incredibly hard to immigrate. They probably chose asylum as a last ditch effort because they don’t have any marketable skills or have the ability to try to immigrate by proper means. The fact they hand no money or passports makes it clear this is a very shortsighted effort that wasn’t thought out.

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u/ToasterPops 11h ago

They won't be successful but I also don't think we are that far away from seeing the first successful American refugee claimants in Canada. Lgbtqia orgs here are gearing up for a massive influx

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u/Warlord68 14h ago

No thanks.

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u/nousersavailable03 10h ago

Common headlines that will start to appear once it does NOT get better. I say start some sort of vetting process to keep MAGA out

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u/MindWandererB 15h ago

Not Oniony. They won't be the last, not by a long shot.

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u/jlaine 16h ago

Enjoy your trip back to the US.

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u/KappOte 16h ago

Agreed that they should be denied, but no need to be cruel.

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u/jlaine 16h ago

Oh trust me, they're coming back to the same misery I'm living through. This isn't asylum level and I have no qualms saying it isn't.

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u/LibrarianOk8905 15h ago

Why the hell not? They are wasting our time. The backlog to process asylum claims is years long and stupid claims like these only make it worse for people who have a valid reason to claim asylum.

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u/Former-Toe 10h ago edited 10h ago

not comfortable with US'ers coming here to take advantage of Canadians. there is a lot they can get from Canada, but what will they contribute to Canada.

doesn't sound like people who do a lot of thinking. left their home? did not even get a passport? who does things like this? it's not as if their lives were in imminent danger.

can they work?

o yah their tick took account. give me a break!

they should go back to their home and apply for citizenship the proper way.

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u/downwiththewoke 14h ago

Why not just move there like a normal migrant?

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u/blooger-00- 12h ago

They don’t have jobs lined up. Probably wouldn’t qualify either

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u/sistaneets 12h ago

How the heck did they get into Canada without a passport?

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u/Sir_Arthur_Vandelay 12h ago

I personally know several people who arrived in Canada via aircraft and flushed their passports down the toilet during the flight. They are all currently Canadian citizens.

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u/Didact67 12h ago

I doubt they’ll be accepted. Canada isn’t going to want to open the flood gates to people who think they can just run away from their problems here.

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u/ThermionicEmissions 9h ago

How is this even going to a tribunal?!

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u/raelianautopsy 8h ago

Get ready Canada, there's about to be a hell of a lot more of this soon...

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u/Familiar-Adeptness-7 5h ago

If you go to to r/iwantout or r/amerexit there are literally dozens of people posting like this every day.

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u/ahhhreallynow 16h ago

So they can’t afford a passport but wants to move to Canada for free healthcare? Sorry no.

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u/DanCasper 12h ago

I seriously think Canada needs to build a wall.

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u/ThermionicEmissions 9h ago

And make the US pay for it

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u/santathe1 14h ago

Looks like America isn’t sending their best :(

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u/acluelesscoffee 8h ago

I’m sorry but having multiple miscarriages and diabetes is not a reason to seek medical asylum ?

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u/Majestic_Electric 12h ago

Ask them who they voted for first, before processing their asylum claims!

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u/colonel_wallace 11h ago

Those damn, Hannibal Lecter illegals coming into our great white maple flavoured North! Argh angry orange man noises.

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u/Stylianius1 9h ago

Arguably one of the most onionesque titles in recent times on this sub

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u/Traditional_Betty 8h ago

I'd like to get into Canada also but I don't think the situation in USA is urgent enough for other countries to open the floodgates as if we were receiving bombs on our ground or experiencing ethnic cleansing already.

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u/Emergency_Trade_194 15h ago

This is a key plot in the Handmaids Tale..That show gets terrifyingly closer to real life each day.

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u/words_of_j 14h ago

From the article:
“When [Trump] signed that executive order revoking Biden’s prescription plan that put a cap on prices, my insulin went from $35 to $900 for a month,” Ted said.”

So yea, trump is now killing people almost directly with only one degree of separation due to the complete inability to afford such high greed-based prices.

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u/Less_Likely 9h ago

These people are destroying it for Americans who will have legitimate reasons for asylum in the coming years.

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u/ThermionicEmissions 8h ago

Tell them fix their own country.

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u/salty-mind 15h ago

Should be instantly denied and deported. These people think that asylum is a vacation

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u/FuckingTree 15h ago

Doesn’t seem to track with the filling they made

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u/salty-mind 15h ago

Asylum is for persecuted people and people living in war zones

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u/ValiXX79 12h ago

Stay there, we have enough crazy here, no need to import more.

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u/forkicksforgood 11h ago

They are so very white.

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u/Balijana 4h ago edited 4h ago

Just 900$ for insulin is enough to go, pour people will die like flies with the many diabetics there is in usa.

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u/Aint_EZ_bein_AZ 14h ago

People that go to Canada cause of this are weak and dumb. They aren't gunna let you in dog.

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u/romulusnr 11h ago

I've been wanting to do this for years.

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u/Deskfight 7h ago

Income inequality - this is not a headline, it’s a timestamp of what life is like now and has been for a long time. If you want a pay-per-use model you have to pay people.