Trump administration ‘to ban trans athletes entering the US for competitions’

The State Department has reportedly ordered US officials worldwide to deny visas to trans athletes hoping to compete in events in the country.

The directive from the US secretary of state Marco Rubio on Monday could affect transgender athletes looking to compete in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in three years’ time, a report in The Guardian suggests.

Issued on Monday (24 February), the directive adds that applicants judged to have “misrepresented” their sex on their visa application could face a life-time ban from the US.

“In cases where applicants are suspected of misrepresenting their purpose of travel or sex, you should consider whether this misrepresentation is material such that it supports an ineligibility finding,” Rubio’s order reads.

The directive comes after president Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent trans women from competing in female sports. It covers students in school and at university.

Signing the order earlier this month, Trump referred to the Los Angeles Games, saying: “I’m directing secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem… to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes.”

CeCé Telfer, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first transgender national champion, claimed the debate around trans participation in sports has become more extreme since Trump took office for a second time.

“I’m Black, I’m a woman, I’m transgender, and I’m an athlete… each of my identities is a target, especially in America,” Telfer told CNN last week.

“I feel a lot of the anti-trans rhetoric has become louder, more in my face. Prior to this set-in-stone administration, I woke up every day and faced adversaries when I (left) my house. Now, I wake up every day and have to make sure I make it home alive.”

Telfer also spoke about the Trump administration’s reported intent to strip NCAA trans athletes of titles they have already won. “I’m willing to sit down with anybody who’s willing to have this conversation, even Trump himself,” she said.

Addressing Trump’s executive order, a spokesperson for media monitoring organisation GLAAD said: “All women and girls, including transgender women and girls, should be welcome to play sports if they want, make decisions about their own bodies, be hired for jobs they are qualified for, and be free from lawless attacks by elected officials.

“Anti-LGBTQ politicians with a record of abusing and silencing women and stripping their healthcare have zero credibility in any conversation about protecting women and girls. Every American should demand that so-called leaders stop attacking vulnerable people and start doing their jobs solving actual problems.”

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