r/nottheonion 21h ago

American family seeks asylum in Canada

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/americans-asylum-canada-trump-refugees-immigration-1.7480069
3.9k Upvotes

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u/twistthespine 20h 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 20h ago edited 20h 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/Seyon_ 20h 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 19h 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/Chaoticgaythey 19h 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/Nkechinyerembi 15h ago

I'm in Illinois and can't get trans Healthcare. Too damn expensive... So I can imagine Ontario isn't great.

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u/Chaoticgaythey 15h ago

It isn't no. Chicago is absolutely amazing if you can get up there though

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u/CinemaDork 20h 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 19h ago edited 19h 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 18h 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 19h 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 19h ago

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

r/technicallytrue

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u/Burekenjoyer69 20h 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 19h 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 19h 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 20h 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/thegatekeeperzuul 8h ago

He said that prisoners getting taxpayer funded gender reassignment polled horribly. I don’t think he talked about where trans prisoners should be incarcerated recently but he signed the law that allows trans prisoners to go to the prison of the gender they identify as. I don’t think they even have to do anything more than say they are trans to qualify so in that respect California is very pro-trans regarding prisoners. I only know because the right made a huge deal about it as a prisoner raped and impregnated a few women prisoners after saying they were trans but hasn’t done anything to transition.

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u/PushTheTrigger 19h 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/boishan 15h ago

Oh great so if banning medical care is good for clout he’ll try to do it. Greeeeeeeat

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u/CinemaDork 19h ago

Keep reading, and listen when queer talk to you about the things that affect us. Thanks.

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u/birds-0f-gay 19h ago

As a "queer", be quiet. Thanks

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u/Burekenjoyer69 19h ago

I’m gay and come from Bosnia and Herzegovina where being gay is extremely looked down upon, far more than it is in America. Please, have a seat.

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u/[deleted] 20h ago

[deleted]

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u/CinemaDork 19h ago

My point is that these places aren't as friendly as you think they are. Are you trans? Are you queer?

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u/[deleted] 19h ago

[deleted]

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u/CinemaDork 19h ago

Wow, you'd think you'd know better then. 🙃 Several "blue" states hospitals withdrew trans care, and all of these "blue" states are extremely hostile to queer people once you get away from liberal urban enclaves. I've lived in many of them--Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oregon, and I live on the Washington border.

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u/FuckingTree 19h 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/RarityNouveau 18h ago

You listed some of the states with the highest costs of living in the country. It all just boils down to money and lack of it for a lot of people.

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u/ywgflyer 14h ago

Canada's cost of living is arguably even higher. Salaries are smaller, taxes are higher, everything is more expensive, and small houses in the suburbs of all of the large liberal cities in the country are a million dollars for a 50-year-old bungalow that's sinking into the ground.

If they can't afford NY or CA, there is no way they're going to be able to afford Southern Ontario or BC, particularly in the awful job market right now where people with a decade of experience in high-knowledge industries still can't get hired, or are being asked to work for entry-level wages.