Bamby Salcedo, leader of the TransLatina Coalition, spoke at a gathering in front of LA City Hall in October 2023. (TransLatin@ Coalition photo credit)
LOS ANGELES: According to a recent review by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, there are 174,200 transgender refugees in the US and 41,000 in California, making up more than 25% of the country’s adult transgen people.
The majority of transgender immigrants from California (83%) have spent more than ten years in the United States. They are older, people of color, married, and have babies more frequently than trans people born in the United States.
Researchers looked at the demographic, economic, and health traits of transgender child refugees in California using information from the California Health Interview Survey. According to the findings, about 25% of transgender immigrants live in poverty (27%), and 2/3 of them (68%) rent rather than own their homes.
While transgender immigrants share many characteristics with their counterparts, more than twice as many of them (12% vs. 5%, respectively) reported experiencing psychological distress in the previous month.
According to lead author Elana Redfield, the Williams Institute’s Federal Policy Director, transgender-serving companies must consider the special needs of immigrants. “Organizations serving expat populations in California should ensure that companies are inclusive of transgend people.” For the government’s trans immigrant community, “interventions that address economic uncertainty, housing volatility, and mental health are mainly needed.”
The Key Studies
Demographics
- Compared to 14% of transgender people born in the United States, half (50 %) of immigrants are ages 50 and older.
- Over half (53 %), 25%, 10%, gay or lesbian, and 13% identify in some other way, while 25% identify as bisexual.
- Compared to transgender immigrants, there are 31% fewer trans women who are married, but 33% of trans people who were born in the United States do.
- Compared to just over half (52% of transgender people born in the United States), nearly three-quarters (72 ) of immigrants are people of color.
- Over one-third of transgender immigrants are Latinx (38%), non-Hispanic Asians (33%), and almost a third are white (29%), respectively.
- Other than Los Angeles (32%), the majority of transgender immigrants reside in the Greater Bay Area (42%) or Southern California.
- In Los Angeles, transgender immigrants are less likely to live (33% vs. 33%), respectively.
Economic Health and Well-being
- Transgender immigrants have a three-fold higher chance of receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) than non-cisgaregic immigrants (30% vs. 10%) among those who live below 200% of the federal poverty level.
- Compared to cisgender immigrants, there are fewer (26% vs. 48%) who own their own homes.
- 33% of trans refugees say their health is weak or average.
According to co-author Kerith J. Conron, research director at the Williams Institute, more study is required on transgender immigrants in California and across the United States, including studies with big enough sample sizes to examine exposure to identity documents, views with immigration authorities and confinement services, as well as murder and discrimination.
It would also be beneficial to conduct research that examines the variations in the health and financial security of transgender immigrants based on their legal status.
Observe the document.
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