"Fleeing to be yourself": EITB collects testimonies from trans families living in the Basque Country who have fled Trump's America

The American dream has become a nightmare for thousands of Americans who feel they have no place in Trump's America, or are directly afraid of what may happen to them and their families. The so-called Trump Exodus is not a media label, but the harsh reality that thousands of Americans live in, including many families with Trans children, some of whom have left the United States and found refuge in the Basque Country.

Becca, Luken, Yulene, or the Heiser family are examples of this dramatic escape, they were born inthe United States, they grew up hearing that they lived in the country of freedom, and in the end they had to cross the Atlantic to become themselves.

History of the Oyarbide family

EITB has collected their stories in a series of reports and documentary entitled Escape to Be Yourself, which has reflected the fear and forced flight of trans people from Trump's America, as well as the process of integration that they are experiencing in the Basque Country.

"Trans in some states is illegal. Someone can call the police for you, "explains Yulene Oyarbide. She and her family have found a new life in Olaberria, Gipuzkoa. Yulene is non-binary and her sister, Luken, transa. After Trump won the election for the second time in November 2024, Kepa decided to come to her father's land.

"They said," We're leaving, we don't want to be in this country anymore, "" Kepa himself explained. Andrea Marie Montavon, his wife, is a lawyer, an immigration expert, "I've seen transgender people and homosexuals being treated in detention camps, and it's scary. Comparing it to the peace we have here, it's like night and day." Luken's words are indicative of the situation: "I was afraid of what might happen to my life and my health."

Shay Ann Heiser and his twin daughters, Amelia and Ranjha, had no connection with the Basque Country, but the reasons that led them to leave the United States are similar. Ranjha is unbinary and they wanted a more welcoming territory for him.

Sarah Griffith and her husband Trevor Registry had also decided that they would leave Georgia if Trump won. The main reason was the safety of their trans daughter Becca. They chose Bilbao after learning about the experience of a friend who had lived in the Basque Country since 2017.

Transfer.

The fact that many trans people feel marginalized, discriminated against or harassed in their own country is not a matter of isolated cases. According to an analysis by the Williams Institute, which specializes in public policy research,nearly half of trans people have moved or are considering moving to a place with better conditions.

A similar proportion, about 50%, indicate that they have been physically assaultedand that 60 trans people were brutally killed between 2024 and 2025.

It's unclear how many of them have left the United States after Trump's victory in 2024, but one study suggests that some 400,000 have changed their residency status. Most have sought safer environments in California, Washington, Massachusetts, or Connecticut, known as "protective states."

However, according to the protagonists of the documentary Escape to Be Yourself, even in the most tolerant states the social climate is becoming more and more unsustainable, to which must be added the legislative changes on medical treatments, the federal order recognizing only biological sex (order 14168) and measures relating to military service and participation in sporting competitions.

"They've turned against being non-binary or belonging to the LGTBIQ+ collective, which is very easy here because I say I'm non-binary and they know what it is, I don't have to give much explanation," says Ranjha.

Despite the difficult adaptation of his first year, his mother, Shay Anne, has serious doubts about his return to Chicago: "If things don't change, if they don't get better, we won't come back. "