“What American Dream Is This?”: The Effect of Trump’s Presidency on Immigrant Latinx Transgender People

Little research has explored how transgender people are impacted by the behaviors, statements, and policies of the Trump administration. To date no scholarship has explored the experiences of immigrant Latinx transgender people during the current political climate. Using a critical intersectional qualitative framework, the present study aimed to investigate how immigrant Latinx transgender people are impacted by Trump’s administration. A community sample of 15 immigrant Latinx transgender people from a large metropolitan city in Florida participated in semistructured interviews to explore their experiences since the election of Donald Trump. Thematic analysis revealed seven themes related to experiences of oppression, including: (a) perceived increase in societal discrimination and violence, (b) perception of law enforcement surveillance, discrimination, and violence, (c) mental health toll, (d) decreased access to resources and opportunities, (e) perception of Trump’s uninformed, hostile, and aggressive behavior, (f) rollback of discrimination protection, and (g) passing and conforming to norms. In addition, five themes emerged about participants’ sources of coping and strength in response to the current political climate, including: (a) pride and resilience, (b) hope for a better future, (c) religion and spirituality, (d) family and community support, and (d) short-term avoidance as a form of resistance. Psychological practices and advocacy efforts such as using evidencebased practices to effectively work with immigrant Latinx transgender people are discussed.