An Australian woman announced on X that she’d just canceled her trip to the U.S., citing safety concerns. She also didn’t want to finance a “hateful & intolerant America.”
“We’ll sit this one out until commonsense & decency are back in the US,” she added.
While both reasons sounded unreasonable to me, as she sees it, people like me are the problem.
This woman was responding to news that multiple countries have recently issued warnings to their citizens about travel to the U.S., which was surprising, but apparently true.
The New Zealand government uses the same four-tiered travel advisory scale as most nations: Level 1 (Exercise normal safety precautions), Level 2 (Exercise a high degree of caution), Level 3 (Reconsider your need to travel), and Level 4 (Do not travel).
On Nov. 29, the government raised its alert status for citizens traveling to the U.S. to Level 2 “due to the threat of terrorism,” where it has remained.
Its website advises New Zealanders:
There are more significant safety or security concerns than you would usually find in New Zealand, particularly because of terrorism and incidents of civil unrest.There is a higher incidence of violent crime and firearm possession than in New Zealand.
And asks travelers to be aware of:
While the Australian government’s “Smartraveller” website alert status for travel to the U.S. is currently set at Level 1, its warnings are nearly identical to those from New Zealand. The government warns citizens that “violent crime is more common in the United States than in Australia. Gun crime is also prevalent.”
Additionally, “there is a persistent threat of mass casualty violence and terrorist attacks in the United States. Be alert, particularly in public places and at events.”
Travelers are warned to “avoid areas where demonstrations and protests are occurring due to the potential for unrest and violence.”
And they remind citizens that “entry requirements are strict. US authorities have broad powers to decide if you’re eligible to enter and may determine that you are inadmissible for any reason under US law.”
Likewise, Canada’s advisory is at Level 1, with its government website referencing the same risks outlined by New Zealand and Australia.
But the governments of Germany, France, Denmark, and Finland warn of an additional threat. According to the Men’s Journal:
New U.S. gender marker policies that may affect travelers who use “X” or nonbinary identifiers. Since January, entry has been denied in some cases unless travel documents match the sex assigned at birth.
The article notes:
The U.K. took it a step further. Its Foreign Office warned that minor entry mistakes could lead to detention or deportation, and emphasized the variability of laws across different U.S. states.The consequences are already surfacing. The World Travel & Tourism Council projects a $12.5 billion decline in international tourism revenue to the U.S. in 2025, driven in part by these warnings. That’s a serious blow to cities that rely on global visitors to fill restaurants, hotels, and attractions.
These dire safety warnings may play well politically, but they distort reality. While no country is without its flaws, portraying America as uniquely dangerous — especially for international visitors — stretches credibility.
And suggesting that visitors face imminent detention or deportation simply doesn’t align with the experience of millions of travelers each year.
Transgender individuals are free to present themselves however they choose in daily life. But given the dangerous world we live in — and the intense scrutiny that even American citizens face when traveling abroad — is it really too much to ask that one’s travel documents match their sex assigned at birth?
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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