On January 22nd, Borderland Pride released a statement on “hostile measures taken by U.S. President Donald Trump to attack the trans and non-binary community.” Thus, Borderland Pride suggests “Pride is most needed where and when it is least visible,” yet acknowledges there are legitimate safety concerns for the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Moreover, this calls into question how gender markers that differ from unchanged, or cisgender, gender markers will influence travel into or through the United States.
“Borderland Pride is gravely concerned by the hostile measures taken by U.S. President Donald Trump to attack the trans and non-binary community,” reads the statement. “We join with other 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride and diversity advocates across Canada and the United States to condemn these despicable attacks on one of the most vulnerable groups in North American society, and particularly the President’s disregard for gender diverse youth.
“We have always recognized that Pride is most needed where and when it is least visible – in times like these. At the same time, there are practical constraints and community safety concerns that are top of mind. Borderland Pride is the only local Pride organization that operates in both Canada and the United States. We host the only Pride parade in the world that crosses an international border.
“Consequently, we are continuing to evaluate our ability to safely provide Pride programming in International Falls, Minnesota and the surrounding area. We will be taking steps to seek support from community leaders on both sides of the border to affirm our area’s towns, cities, and Indigenous communities as places of safety for gender-diverse people.”
This follows other messaging from Borderland Pride like calling on Harold McQuaker, the Mayor of Emo, to denounce death threats and hate speech coming from their constituents, as well as Borderland Pride’s condemnation of a “homophobic, wasteful judicial review,” and other releases related to McQuaker and the Township of Emo being found by the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario to have breached human rights and influenced an increase in anti-LGBTQ sentiment.
“We also issue a caution to members of our local 2SLGBTQIA+ community, whose daily lives and families straddle the international border,” stated Borderland Pride. “With President Trump’s executive order declaring that the United States only recognizes two genders – male and female – we simply do not know whether gender-neutral markers on passports and identification will be accepted by U.S. border officials. We call on Canadian officials to take steps to ensure the safety of gender-diverse people who have engagements with U.S. law enforcement or border guards.”
