A transgender American software engineer who fled the United States after the 2024 presidential election has returned to California, admitting that her decision to seek asylum in the Netherlands was a mistake. Jane-Michelle Arc, 48, stated that life in the Ter Apel refugee camp in the Netherlands was more frightening than her perceived circumstances in the U.S.
Arc had publicly expressed fears for her safety as a transgender woman in America following Donald Trump's reelection. She eventually sought asylum in the Netherlands but encountered significant difficulties at the Ter Apel camp, described as notorious and a safety risk zone by the Dutch government. Arc reported experiencing anti-trans hostility from other asylum seekers, primarily from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia, Turkey, Algeria, and Morocco.
"This is the dumbest thing I've ever done," Arc told The Guardian, describing her decision to flee as "wildly stupid." She noted that upon arriving in the Netherlands, she was told that moving to California, where she previously lived in San Francisco, would have been a safer choice, with some remarking that San Francisco is considered a haven for LGBTQ+ individuals.
Arc told Dutch outlet Pow News that while her situation as a trans person in the U.S. was not ideal, she feared she could be harmed or killed in the European camp. She recounted being warned to "be careful who I hang out with and where I go" due to "sideways looks from Muslims."
The area around the Ter Apel camp, the largest in the Netherlands, has been declared a safety risk zone following a series of stabbings and fights, according to reports citing a letter from the Dutch government. Arc stated that it was too dangerous to walk to the grocery store from the camp, noting the presence of individuals wearing yellow vests, a measure taken due to frequent stabbings.
Upon her return to the U.S. last month, Arc remarked on the country's high cost of living and overwhelming nature. "America is really, really loud and overwhelming. And everything is so expensive," she wrote. She also acknowledged that while U.S. transphobia is "overt," her experience in America is more "comfortable" than her time in the asylum center.
Arc stated that her decision to leave the U.S. was not made lightly. "I did it because I was afraid for my life. I didn't do this in secret. I talked to everybody I knew. I said, ‘I am planning to do this wildly stupid thing,'" she told The Guardian. Her acquaintances reportedly expressed reservations but felt she had no other options.
While the exact number of transgender individuals who have left the U.S. to seek asylum since Trump's reelection is unknown, a May 2025 report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law indicated that nearly half of transgender adults in the U.S. have relocated or are planning to relocate to another state.