Trans-student Ella canceled the semester abroad in the United States: Security is going on!

Trans-student Ella canceled the semester abroad in the United States: Security is going on!

Berlin, Deutschland - The current political developments in the United States throw a shadow on the plans of many students, especially queer and trans people. Ella, a 24-year-old student of ecology and environmental planning at the TU Berlin, has canceled her planned semester abroad at the University of California in Berkeley in August 2025 because she feels unsafe due to her transidentity. rbb24 reports on their decision, which is influenced, among other things, by the political framework of the Trump administration. This has led to US universities to disclose social media accounts of their international students.

ella's security concerns are diverse. She would have to enter the USA with a visa where “male” is noted, although her gender entry in Germany has been changed to “female”. This raises practical and emotional questions for them, which have been tightened by an incident in which a foreign doctor was withdrawn the visa. Her decision to cancel your semester abroad was also understood by the TU Berlin, which offered its alternative place of study, such as China or Australia. However, Ella feels these variants as too short -term and insecure.

political influences and concerns

The situation of Ella is not isolated. Other international students also comment on the increasing hurdles that queer people expect when entering the United States. In addition to Ella, Helena, 31 years old, is also a person concerned who thinks about having their gender entry changed. She has similar fears that changes in her passport could affect her trips to the USA and Belarus. MDR informs that there are currently no major problems with new applications from ESTA, but the reservations remain under queer travelers.

Especially since the decree of US President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, which limits the recognition of gender to "male" and "female", many queer and trans people in Germany have rethought their travel plans. According to [real variety] (https://echte- Vielfalt.de/allgemeind/neue-huerden-fuer-lgbtiq-menschen-bei-der-ein-eusa-ein-----signal/), this particularly affects those with a gender entry in the passport that deviates from these categories. Entry into the USA becomes much more complicated, since the US entry procedure requires the gender entry in the ESTA application or visa to meet the gender assigned at birth.

long -term perspectives for queer students

necessary security precautions and the fear of discrimination against entry motivate Ella to apply for the Erasmus program, possibly in Sweden or Austria. The current regulations not only create hurdles for individual mobility, but also send a questionable signal regarding equality and human rights. The developments illustrate how far political influence and social norms can influence life and life decisions of queer people, both in Germany and internationally.