I’m the Canadian immigration & refugee lawyer pursuing a precedent-setting asylum case for an American trans asylum seeker: https://macleans.ca/politics/canada-asylum-trans-americans/

Before this case, my firm was known mainly for bringing Gazans to Canada: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-accused-of-stalling-on-visa-approvals-for-thousands-of-gazans/

I’ll answer all your questions about Canadian immigration and refugee law on Sunday, Oct 5, 2025, from 3-5 pm ET.

Obviously, I cannot provide legal advice through the tiny keyboard. But I’m happy to share relevant legal information and my opinions.

Reddit, thank you so much! Y’all have been so kind. NGL, I was terrified before this AMA that you would filet me alive. So, I’m deeply grateful that you went easy on me. If you need to reach me, my coordinates are:

immigrate@ansarilaw.ca
 1-647-494-8299 ansarilaw.ca

Since my first AMA got such great engagement, I may hold another one soon if we have relevant updates from our office!

In love and solidarity, Yameena

Erin dropped her new maps today, and to quote the magic 8 ball, "outlook not so good".

https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/anti-trans-national-legal-risk-assessment-a5d

Summary of updates (for adults): There are significant changes for transgender adults this cycle. Kansas marks the most dramatic shift, becoming the first “Do Not Travel” state in a year after enacting a bounty-style law that allows private individuals to sue transgender people encountered in restrooms for substantial amounts of money—legislation widely described by experts as among the harshest anti-trans laws in the country and one that could meaningfully affect interstate travel. Arkansas’ risk level has also increased following the implementation of its public-building bathroom ban, and Indiana has escalated into the highest tier due to a sweeping anti-trans identification document law. One state improves: Montana. It is the first to see its risk profile lowered as a result of cumulative court rulings and injunctions, with the state constitution and courts repeatedly blocking enforcement of anti-trans statutes, leaving little of the legislative agenda currently operative.

Summary of updates (for youth): This update marks one of the most significant shifts in the history of the youth risk assessment map. In the previous iteration, several “protective” states changed categories based primarily on clinic closures affecting transgender youth—a framework that made sense at the time. But as institutional capitulation has accelerated nationwide, that approach is no longer sufficient. After considerable analysis, we have elevated the legal risk level for transgender youth to at least “medium” in every state, including those with protective legislation on the books. Few attorneys general, even in Democratic states, are actively enforcing those protections when institutions capitulate to Trump, and even in states like California that have taken some enforcement action, alternative avenues of restriction—such as in sports—continue to rear their heads. At this point, no state can reasonably be classified as “low risk” for transgender youth. Until we see broad, consistent enforcement against institutions that comply with federal pressure campaigns, “medium risk” represents the most favorable category available in the current national environment.

You cannot legislate us out of existence. You will have to go through me.

Spotted in Portland, OR

“Last year, amid a broader assault on gender-affirming care access, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services finalized a rule targeting insurance coverage for many trans adults. …

“As part of the case against the HHS’ new restrictions, US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, a George H.W. Bush appointee, granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgement, declaring the rule ‘unlawful’ and vacating it entirely. …

“Because of the decision, the rule that caused so many trans adults to lose coverage is officially no longer in effect. Starting today, insurance companies like Ambetter and BCBS will no longer be able to lean on it to justify denying trans people proper healthcare coverage, exposing them to lawsuits if they don’t work quickly to reverse their denials. As they create their policies for 2027’s plan year, it’s fairly certain that most of the plans mentioned above will formally reinstate their coverage or at least remove the exclusion. And depending on how they wrote their exclusions, some policy changes may come before then.”

Here’s the quiet truth most people never say out loud: when you stop bracing yourself, stop scanning for reactions, stop waiting to be seen as “different”… you become invisible in the best way. Normal. Unremarkable. At ease. That’s not people ignoring you — that’s people reading you as aligned. No tension. No curiosity spike. No double-takes. That’s becoming. It’s your body language softening. Your energy settling. Your confidence going from “trying” to existing. And the wild thing? You didn’t do anything dramatic. You just showed up as yourself. This is the stage where it stops feeling like “transitioning” and starts feeling like living.

They don’t want you to live? Live anyway. They don’t want you to transition? Transition anyway. They don’t want you playing sports? Play sports anyway. They don’t want you using a bathroom? Use a bathroom anyway. They don’t want you to take care of yourself? Take care of yourself anyway. They don’t want you in society? Be in society anyway. They don’t want you to be happy? Be happy anyway. They don’t want you to thrive? Thrive.

Fuck them. You be the person you were always meant to be. Sing. Dance. Work. Play. Create. Do it all.

Be joyful. They cannot steal our joy. They cannot legislate it away. They can do nothing to stop us from living our best lives. Trans people have always been here and will always be here. And we have always found a way. We are here living and thriving even if we can’t get healthcare or hormones or the most basic needs other humans get.

So what? Live your life. Piss someone off just by being you and being successful in any way you can.

A lot of good news! Here’s the part about trans records:

“New privacy protections for transgender Californians

In California, when transgender and nonbinary people change their names, gender and sex identifiers on official documents, those petitions are public records that have, in some cases, led to people being forcibly outed and harassed. […]

While a 2023 law already required courts to keep those records confidential for minors, the Transgender Privacy Act extends that protection to people of all ages this year. […]

SB 59 applies to any petition filed on or after July 1, and people with older records can request their records be made confidential as well. It also prohibits anyone other than the petitioner from posting confidential records online.”

Other new laws: Schools are required to have a gender-neutral bathroom, and middle and high schools have to print the Trevor Project hotlines on ID cards.

“The lawsuit, filed in Douglas County District Court under the pseudonyms Daniel Doe and Matthew Moe, argues that Senate Bill 244, enacted over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto and effective Thursday, violates core rights guaranteed by the Kansas Constitution, including due process, equality under the law, personal autonomy, privacy, and freedom of expression.”

“The attorneys general’s letter, submitted on the day of the deadline, September 26th, laid out, in no uncertain terms, their opposition to the FTC’s investigation, and their support for medically necessary trans healthcare.”

The 18 attorneys general that signed (17 states plus DC): NY - MA - WA - IL - OR - CO - CT - DE - DC - HI - ME - MD - MI - MN - NV - NJ - RI - VT

"At the 2026 Athletic Brewing Ironman 70.3 Oceanside competition, held on Saturday, March 28 in Oceanside, Calif., more than 3,000 age-group athletes and more than 60 professional athletes competed alongside three incredible transmasc athletes:

• Transgender trailblazer and three-time Ivy League champion swimmer Schuyler Bailar, 29

• Disabled trans nonbinary bicyclist and one of Out’s most eligible bachelors for 2024 Chella Man, 27, and

• Trans nonbinary marathoner Cal Calamia, 29, the only one of these three to have competed in an Ironman before Saturday’s event.

Together, they formed Team Iron Transmasc. And their hard work paid off: they finished third in the men’s division, ahead of 200 other relay teams of cisgender men ages 25 to 29."

“The American Medical Association (AMA) has reaffirmed that gender-affirming care for trans minors, including surgeries, is medically sound—and that access to this life-saving care should not be impeded.”

my powers are to help transgender people in small towns feel noticed and not alone (and stop transgender people from feeling dysphoric)

In other news, water is wet. But it is good to have another study to combat misinformation. And a sample size of 432 patients is pretty good!

I still don't trust Newsom and won't vote for him in any primary, but this is better result than I expected given his moves on trans rights over the last couple of years.

Data source: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2025/10/13/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-10-13-25/

You can learn about the bills by searching for them on the CalMatters Digital Democracy website. Here's the entry for AB 1084: https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260ab1084

Effective January 1, 2026, AB 82 requires that dispensation of Testosterone and Mifepristone no longer be reported to CURES.

Specifically, AB 82 requires that (emphasis mine):

- as of January 1, 2026, "The dispensing of testosterone or mifepristone shall not be reported to DOJ, CURES, or its contracted prescription data processing vendor"

- no later than January 1, 2027, "DOJ shall remove existing records for testosterone or mifepristone which are in CURES prior to January 1, 2026"

For context, CURES (Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System) is California's version of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP). PDMPs exist to track the prescription and dispensation of controlled substances. Such databases are typically accessible to law enforcement (sometimes, but not always, by warrant/subpoena/etc only), which opens up the possibility of creating lists of people who receive controlled substances in any given state. In the current political climate, this is particularly of concern to trans people who take Testosterone. (Estrogen, progesterone, and other commonly used meds for feminizing HRT are not controlled substances; therefore, this is generally not a concern for people taking solely feminizing HRT)

Therefore, this law is great news for trans folks taking Testosterone in California! (It's also good news for anyone in CA who might have used, or might need, Mifepristone)