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In the United States the average native-born citizen can prove their definitive citizenship in terms of eligibility for work through either a birth certificate or a passport. Birth certificates are legally owned and issued by the government of the state you are born in.

I was born in Texas. Texas has banned trans people from changing our birth certificates to match our name and gender. Texas will put me on a list if I reveal I am trans in any legal way, including having ever applied to change my gender marker. I cannot change my birth certificate.

This means the only way I can prove my eligibility for work is with my passport. Without my passport, I can’t legally apply for work.

That is why the executive order banning trans people from changing our passports to match our gender identity is such a huge problem. It’s not boo hoo I can’t leave the country to go on vacation, it’s stripping me of my labor rights and daring me to work in a sweat shop if I want to survive.

And say I did want to cross the border because oh, I don’t know, fleeing to seek asylum in a new country suddenly becomes very important—wouldn’t it be a good idea to have a passport that matches my identification to show local authorities, so they don’t deport me back to America?

Your boy found me.

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