Transgender musicians are canceling US tour dates due to Trump’s gender ID rules
T. Thomason’s U.S. Tour visa does not expire until June, but the Canadian pop singer made an appearance next month at a festival in Belfast, Maine because he doesn’t want to be a border as a non-binary trans person.
Thomason, 30, allocated time between Toronto and Wolfville, Nova Scotia last week, announcing that he has withdrawn from the All Roads Festival, which took place from May 16-17. He told Wired that he made the decision after seeing President Donald Trump’s executive order against trans communities, including a person who announced that the U.S. government would recognize only two types of men and women. He also grew scared after hearing stories of visitors, U.S. visa holders and applicants held at the border, including a Vancouver woman, told the Guardian that she had been detained for two weeks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I just thought if it were a cis, I was really worried about what would happen to me,” Thomason said.
Trans-sex man Toronto and Montreal singer Bells Larsen also announced Friday that he is canceling his spring tour because the gendered man on his passport does not meet his assigned sexual behavior at birth, which may disqualify him from eligibility for a U.S. visa under new rules under Trump administration. Aya Sinclair, a London-based musician and trans woman, told Pitchfork that she will avoid American programming “until any changes.” Even Neil Young, a dual Canadian U.S. citizen, said he was worried about being “jailed” when returning to the United States due to his criticism of Trump.
However, the decision to not play in the United States means predicting travel revenue and having the opportunity to build your own fan base in the world’s largest music market. And simply putting other places in Europe or elsewhere abroad (especially for Canadian artists) is an expensive effort.
The United States and Canada’s American Musicians Federation, which can request the federal government to grant a touring visa and tell Canadian members in late March that the latest immigration rules “conform to our shared values. At present, the U.S. government cannot shift with this irresistible position.”
Transgender Los Angeles entertainment attorney Dani Oliva told Wired that his clients have had “universal panic” over the past few weeks. Thomason’s lawyer Oliva pointed out that Canadian musicians who want to play in the United States have two visa options, one of which costs up to $8,000, which is “very heavy.” He said processing time for clients increased from three to four months to eight to ten months without paying for expedited processing.
He said he conducted risk and benefit analysis for every client who hopes to come to the United States. But he fears that visa requests from transgender clients may be rejected on the grounds of “false statements or fraud” if the gender on the identification documents they submitted did not match the gender assigned at birth. This discovery could lead to a person being banned from using the United States for life unless they successfully apply for a waiver (which is a tedious process).
Although the headache is getting a U.S. visa, there is a reason people do this: money and culture cachet.
“I mean, I mean, a lot of artists can only find their breakthrough when they are traveling in the United States,” said Kurt Dahl, a Vancouver entertainment attorney. “Ten times the population is more likely to get the press and get people’s attention.”
