1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to take immediate action to protect transgender people in our state from the discrimination and harassment that is forcing hundreds of thousands of Americans from their homes. A recent poll by the Movement Advancement Project and NORC found that approximately 400,000 transgender people have relocated to different states since the 2024 election. This represents 9% of the transgender population moving in just months, making it one of the largest relocations in modern U.S. history. An additional 1.5 million non-transgender LGBTQ+ people have also moved states during this period. These are not voluntary relocations. The survey reveals that 56% of transgender respondents experienced discrimination because of their gender identity, 47% reported being harassed in person, and 24% said they were discriminated against or mistreated by their own local or state government. People are being driven from their homes, jobs, and communities not by choice but by conditions that have made staying untenable for their safety and dignity. This migration echoes the Great Migration of Black Americans fleeing Jim Crow, when entire populations were forced to abandon their homes to escape systemic persecution. No American should have to uproot their life every time political power shifts. Families are being separated, careers abandoned, and community ties severed because state governments are either actively persecuting transgender people or remaining silent while harassment escalates. I am asking you to publicly oppose anti-transgender legislation, speak out against discrimination targeting transgender constituents, and work to ensure that our state is a place where all people can live safely regardless of their gender identity. Your silence on this issue contributes to an environment where people feel they have no choice but to flee. These are your constituents, and they deserve your protection and advocacy, not your complicity in their displacement.