[name has been anonymised]

Ellie's Story

Ellie was born in New York in 1996, but she largely grew up in Georgia. Shortly after finishing high school, Ellie came out to her parents as transgender. In the months leading up to this, Ellie struggled significantly with her mental health and began self-harming as she felt like she was in the wrong body. In the years following her coming out, her mental health continued to suffer as a result of her inability to be herself in her day-to-day life. Ellie started her transition a couple of years later when she was 22, following which her life and mental health started to improve drastically. Ellie officially changed her name in September 2024.

Ellie has also been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD and Neurofibromatosis type 1. In her day-to-day life, Ellie struggles as a result of her autism and ADHD, but with some reasonable adjustments in place she can thrive.

Ellie left the United States for the UK on 18 January 2025. After Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on 20 January 2025, Ellie describes having an insurmountable amount of anxiety as well as extreme suicidal ideation at the thought of staying in the country as she feared she would be targeted both because of her gender identity and her neurodiversity, especially as she is openly critical of the current administration.

Ellie claimed asylum in the UK shortly after arriving.

Ellie's Case

Ellie is applying for asylum in the UK on the basis that, if returned to the United States, she faces persecution and/or breaches of her human rights on account of both her gender identity and her neurodiversity.

But Ellie's case is unprecedented - rarely in recent history has a group of American citizens faced a real risk of persecution from the state - so she may face an uphill legal struggle for leave to remain in the UK.

Ellie is not eligible for legal aid but she also does not have the financial resources on her own to continue funding her legal fees. She is therefore looking to raise £5000 which will allow her to progress her protection claim. Her lawyers are already acting for her on significantly discounted rates but further costs need to be incurred, and the fees will continue to be discounted. Her case could help establish a precedent for other trans and neurodivergent Americans who have sought protection in the UK.

Ellie's Fears

In an executive order set down by the White House the day President Trump entered office on 20 January 2025, he ordered that: "It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality..."

This executive order fundamentally denies Ellie's identity as female and effectively erases her from legal, official, and public life with devastating psychological and practical consequences. On return to the United States, Ellie would be considered by the state and treated as male, an identity to which she fundamentally does not conform.

The US Government has also moved to introduce new federal legislation which both directly and indirectly targets transgender individuals like Ellie. On 8 May 2025, US Senator Mike Lee, co-led by US Representative Mary Miller, introduced the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act to clarify the legal definition of "obscenity" for all states. The current US Government has repeatedly tried to draw a link between transgender individuals and pornography. Project 2025, a 920-page document considered the policy blueprint for President Donald Trump's second presidential term, declares that transgender individuals are 'a threat to children', that transitioning itself is equivalent to pornography, and that pornography must be outlawed in the US. The forward of Project 2025 reads as follows: "Pornography [is] manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualisation of children...Its purveyors are child predators and misogynistic exploiters of women...Pornography should be outlawed." Given this clear and consistent link, there is a high likelihood that the reformulated definition of obscenity will be used to target and criminalise transgender individuals such as Ellie. 

Another piece of legislation which has been introduced during Donald Trump’s second presidential term is the “Trump Derangement Syndrome Research Act of 2025”, which directs the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to “study the psychological and social roots of what is known as Trump Derangement Syndrome, a phenomenon marked by extreme negative reactions to President Donald J. Trump.” It is feared that this new legislation will be used to target individuals who speak out against Donald Trump and in support of transgender rights, which Ellie has and continues to do.

The US Government, under President Trump, has also moved to ban gender-affirming care for transgender people on Medicaid. Ellie is currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy and there is a real risk that if she was returned to the US, she would be unable to access the hormones, surgery, and other ‘gender transition procedures’ she needs as part of her transition. 

Ellie’s identity as a woman means everything to her; without it she sees no reason to live. It is her identity which is now fundamentally under threat.

The cumulative discriminatory measures that have been introduced and enacted by the US Government under President Trump would have the following consequences for Ellie if she was returned to the US:

• She would no longer be recognised as a female;
• She would be painted as a threat to women and children;
• She would face criminalisation as “obscene” under the Interstate Obscenity Definition Act;
• She would face targeted persecution on account of her public advocacy of transgender rights and public outcry against the Trump administration, as a result of which she faces being labelled as suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome”;
• She would no longer be allowed a passport which shows her gender as female;
• She would be treated by the state as male; and
• Her access to gender-affirming care would be limited. 

Ellie also fears being targeted as a result of her neurodiversity, specifically on the basis of her autism diagnosis. On 16 April 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr (RFK Jr) spoke during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC. During this speech, RFK Jr called autism an “epidemic”, claiming that “Autism destroys families…these are kids who will never pay taxes, they’ll never hold a job, they’ll never play baseball, they’ll never write a poem, they’ll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted...and we need to put an end to it.” RFK Jr went on to promise that he will pinpoint the cause of autism and announced that the NIH will create a disease registry to track autistic Americans. These comments inflame already existing discrimination against individuals with autism and set back efforts to destigmatise autism and connect families with support services. 

With the focus of the US Government clearly on finding a “cure” for autism, and in doing so, completely disregarding the scientific research into the condition, the simple accommodations that Ellie requires in order to help her cope with her autism are likely to become even harder to obtain. This is, of course, dependent on the premise that Ellie would be able to find and access employment in the face of her multiple and intersecting vulnerabilities and stigmatised characteristics. The US Government’s elimination of DEI policies will make this process considerably harder for Ellie, as it has the effect of permitting discriminatory hiring practices.