BY: DM
Published 2 weeks ago
Brazilian Congresswoman Erika Hilton is not here for Donald Trump’s shenanigans. After the U.S. issued her a visa misgendering her as “male,” Hilton is ready to take legal action against the president.
Hilton, one of Brazil’s first openly transgender federal lawmakers, said she canceled her trip to the Brazil Conference at Harvard University and MIT due to the visa error. Despite submitting official documentation identifying her as female, including her birth certificate and diplomatic passport, Hilton said the U.S. State Department issued documents that listed her gender incorrectly.
Hilton now plans to take legal action. Here is a look at how the congresswoman is firing back at the Trump administration.
Erika Hilton slammed Donald Trump and his anti-LGBTQIA+ policies.
Hilton’s legal action aims to address what she perceives as a broader pattern of transphobia and disregard for transgender individuals’ rights under the Trump administration. “This is not just a case of transphobia. This is a document being torn up without the slightest shame,” Hilton told Folha de S. Paulo. “I will take legal action against [U.S.] President Donald Trump at the U.N. and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.”
Hilton said that she presented her birth certificate and diplomatic passport, both listing her as female, during the visa application process. She expressed concern over the U.S. government’s disregard for official documents from other sovereign nations.
In an Instagram post, Hilton accused the U.S. government of undermining the sovereignty of Brazil’s documentation and warned that such actions could have broader implications. “What worries me is that a country is ignoring official documents and the existence of its own citizens, altering them according to the narrative and desires of the [U.S.] President to take away [our] rights,” she wrote. “Because this will not stop with us or affect only trans people, the list of targets for these people is immense.”
Hilton’s move comes after she and fellow trans politician Duda Salabert made history in 2022 as the first two trans women elected to Brazil’s Congress. Hilton received 256,903 votes, making her the most-voted federal deputy in São Paulo. She has since become an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights.
Trump has continuously come for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Since being reelected, Trump has levied a bevy of attacks against the trans community. Immediately following his inauguration, Trump directed all federal agencies to recognize only two sexes: male and female. Days later, Trump signed EO 14183, barring trans individuals from military service, and EO 14201, which blocks trans girls and women from joining female sports teams at federally funded schools.
Another order, EO 14187, slashes federal support for gender-affirming care for minors, calling it “chemical and surgical mutilation.” And while the Trump administration claims it’s defending fairness and traditional values, LGBTQIA+ advocates vow to keep fighting for trans rights in the courts and beyond.
“These bills are not just policy debates — they are direct attacks on the dignity and existence of our trans family members, friends and neighbors,” said Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson.
Should Donald Trump face sanctions for misgendering Erika Hilton? Comment below!
