The Department of Homeland Security has quietly removed language that protects LGBTQIA+ individuals from being surveilled based purely on their gender identity or sexual orientation. This action is a clear violation of queer individuals’ civil liberties within our country, as it allows for the United States to discriminate against queer people by using surveillance unequally against them. 

This change to the DHS’s policy comes alongside a slew of other federal policy changes spurred by President Donald Trump’s mission to end diversity, equity and inclusion policies within the federal government. However, a DHS spokesperson said that the elimination of mentions of gender identity and sexual orientation does not mean that it is open season to conduct surveillance on queer Americans. 

The guidelines, as they now stand, do prohibit surveillance based on sex discrimination. Still, this should not reassure queer Americans since the vague nature of sex discrimination leaves the door open for LGBTQIA+ individuals to be left out of this protection.

This decision to write gender and sexual orientation based discrimination out of the DHS code book puts all queer people at risk. The unspecific language of the new guidelines could allow the DHS to target transgender people with its surveillance. 

The lack of clear protections for transgender individuals in their guidelines means that the DHS could — without due process or probable cause — surveil these individuals. This is particularly concerning because of the recent attacks on transgender people in the U.S. 

With Trump vowing to end the “transgender lunacy” in the U.S., the DHS’ rewriting of its guidelines could spell disaster, making transgender people afraid of being unfairly surveilled and penalized due to their identity. 

This beckons back to an earlier time in the U.S. when LGBTQIA+ Americans could be openly discriminated against. A time where queer bars were consistently raided by police and queer individuals charged based on their sexual orientation and gender identity. Where cities had strict dress codes enforced, requiring individuals to dress according to their sex assigned at birth, causing many queer people to be arrested for cross dressing and simply expressing themselves. 

The added surveillance on the LGBTQIA+ community due to this change in the DHS guidelines would create a hostile environment for those living in the U.S. Feeling as though every action one does could be used against them does not allow people to be themselves and express themselves freely. This in turn could stifle the queer community and make it even harder to be out and proud than it already is. 

The guidelines established by DHS that previously prevented this form of discrimination were put in place so that the U.S. government would not violate citizens’ civil rights. This repeal sets a precedent for the government to roll back protections on other minority groups’ rights.

As the current language stands, the DHS prevents surveillance purely on the basis of one’s “race, ethnicity, sex, religion, country of birth, nationality, or disability.” These protections now also hang on by a thread as Trump’s crusade against DEI could affect these other minority groups’ protected status moving forward.

The threat of further groups being targeted by Trump in this manner is particularly concerning for individuals with immigrant backgrounds. Their rights have already been under attack, as seen by Trump’s aggressive deportation plan that has seen the deportation of immigrants to El Salvador prisons. A rollback on the protections afforded to those of differing ethnicities and nations of origin by the DHS could mean an even more aggressive effort to deport immigrants from the U.S. 

The struggles of all marginalized groups in the U.S. are linked, so the combination of Trump’s aggressive deportation policy and this current rollback of LGBTQIA+ rights spells disaster for us all. It is a clear abridgement of our freedoms that is reprehensible at its core.

The U.S. is quickly falling into fascism, and these are the first steps in the Trump administration’s process to roll back rights for all U.S. residents. We must act now before it is too late. It may be LGBTQIA+ individuals and immigrants today, but it will be your rights tomorrow. 

Peyton Dacy is a junior writing about the struggles queer people face on college campuses and beyond. His column, “Lavender Letters,” runs every other Tuesday.