Toronto charity no longer resettling 2SLGBTQ+ refugees in U.S. since Trump took office

Ethan Lang · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 25, 2025 3:39 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Sitting successful their Toronto flat with their caller partner, Rahma Esslouani says this past twelvemonth has been the archetypal clip they've genuinely felt free.

Esslouani, a 32-year-old nonbinary lesbian, grew up successful Morocco, wherever homosexuality is simply a crime. 

In summation to fears of harassment and persecution, they accidental they faced overwhelming unit astatine location to beryllium much traditionally feminine. Their household would effort to power their covering and activities, they say, and successful 2019, they tried to unit them to wed a man, locking them successful a closet and beating them erstwhile they refused.

That's erstwhile Esslouani fled to Turkey, but they accidental things were nary amended there.

"It was precise hard to beryllium myself," they said. 

Although homosexuality isn't amerciable successful Turkey, they accidental they faced the aforesaid unit and persecution and were inactive arrested for their intersexual orientation. They accidental they were released aft astir a month, and decided to fly again, reaching retired successful 2023 to respective organizations for help.

Last year, Esslouani was 1 of implicit 300 2SLGBTQ+ refugees from 36 nations who were relocated with the assistance of Rainbow Railroad, a Toronto-based planetary foundation that offers enactment to queer and trans radical facing persecution astir the world.

"Now I'm trying to conscionable absorption connected the future," said Esslouani, who is present successful a narration with a pistillate and settling into their life successful Canada. 

"I americium arrogant to openly spell outside, to clasp my partner's hand," they said. "That's thing that I was dreaming of and it's thing that … I didn't [think] that I would unrecorded it."

Most Rainbow Railroad refugees travel to Canada and are relocated done a peculiar concern with the national authorities that was conscionable renewed this twelvemonth until the extremity of 2029, says Devon Matthews, caput of programs for the charity.

But the Canadian programme is capped astatine 250 radical a twelvemonth and request is high. Queer and trans radical look state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia successful much than 60 countries, Matthews says, and Rainbow Railroad received implicit 13,000 requests for assistance past twelvemonth and implicit 9,000 already successful 2025.

In caller years, Rainbow Railroad sent a increasing fig of refugees to the U.S., but Matthews says that's stopped since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.

"We're absolutely, truly watching and truly acrophobic astir the rights rollback that's happening close now," she said.

Pathways to U.S. closed for 2SLGBTQ+ refugees

On his archetypal time successful the White House, Trump suspended the U.S. exile assistance programme utilized by Rainbow Railroad and issued an enforcement bid to halt permitting refugees until it "aligns with the interests of the United States."

His bid said it would beryllium U.S. argumentation "to admit lone those refugees who tin afloat and appropriately assimilate" into the country.

At that time, the foundation already had 70 radical pre-approved for resettlement successful the U.S., Matthews says. Some radical were lone 2 to 3 weeks from being connected a plane.

It's forced the foundation to displacement gears.

"What we're trying to bash is marque definite that this radical of radical who person been near stranded by the existent administration, are capable to beryllium harmless and physique amended lives present successful Canada," she said. 

But Matthews says they'll person to commencement implicit astatine the bottommost of the queue. Meanwhile, she says, "these radical are successful incredibly unspeakable circumstances" with less pathways out.

"We person truthful fewer options. And the options that we had to resettle radical successful the United States were incredible," she said. "It's tragic."

Rainbow Railroad inactive supporting refugees already successful U.S.

On apical of that, Rainbow Railroad is present receiving requests from 2SLGBTQ+ Americans looking for assistance relocating, with implicit 1,200 inquiries coming successful connected Nov. 6, 2024 unsocial — the time aft Trump was elected.

Rainbow Railroad is continuing to enactment refugees who've already resettled to the U.S., Matthews says.

That includes a 30-year-old cheery antheral whom Rainbow Railroad relocated to Chicago from El Salvador conscionable earlier the commencement of Trump's 2nd presidency.

CBC Toronto is not identifying the man, who is acrophobic his comments mightiness impact his migration status.

The antheral says helium inactive feels immoderate hostility toward him successful the U.S., arsenic a Latino and a cheery man, but yet moving to Chicago has been a healing acquisition that's allowed him to explicit his sexuality freely. He says he's heartbroken the way helium took is present closed to others.

"When I deliberation of different idiosyncratic who cannot person that accidental to alteration their life, it's truthful bittersweet for me," helium said.