Trans people could be banned from homeless shelters—sign the petition to fight back now!
Dear MoveOn member,
The Trump administration is escalating its attacks against transgender communities—this time coming for vulnerable people without a home to sleep in.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently proposed a rule that would force federally funded homeless shelters to house people based solely on the sex listed on their birth certificate—ignoring a person’s gender identity entirely.1 If finalized, this rule would leave transgender people with nowhere safe to turn during already deeply distressing moments in their lives.
Nobody should have their gender or sexuality interrogated when trying to access basic safety and shelter. When our government begins to surveil our bodies, it is a dangerous and terrifying escalation of authoritarianism and control.
HUD wants to ban trans people from emergency shelters. Will you sign the petition to demand they withdraw this cruel rule?
We already know the stakes. Up to 40% of the youth experiencing homelessness in this country identify as LGBTQ+.2 In 2021, a study found that 38% of transgender girls and 39% of transgender boys have experienced homelessness in their lifetimes.3 These are not just numbers—these are real young people who are already being failed by the systems that are supposed to protect them.
This proposed rule would make that failure official policy and openly put transgender people in even more danger.
HUD is rolling back protections that have kept transgender people safe. Add your name to the petition to demand they keep shelters open for everyone.
Hannah Adams, a senior staff attorney at the National Housing Law Project, put it plainly: "It's a really, really cruel and violent rule that will cause unknown numbers of transgender individuals to be denied shelter when they need it, and to in many cases, probably choose not even to try to access shelter because of the fear of experiencing discrimination, harassment, or violence."4
People who are already unhoused may not even try to seek help, because this administration has made shelters feel more dangerous than the streets.
This is a deliberate reversal of decades of progress. In 2012, HUD barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in federally funded shelters.5 In 2016, it updated that rule to explicitly require shelters to respect a person’s self-identified gender.6 Now, the Trump administration is tearing that all down to advance its transphobic agenda.
Thousands of unhoused trans Americans will be put at risk if this rule takes effect. Sign the petition to demand HUD withdraw it immediately.
Through this rule, the Trump administration is sending a loud message to unhoused transgender people that no one in the federal government is looking out for their safety.
The proposed rule is now in a 60-day public comment period. Advocates say they fully expect the administration to move forward, but the pressure we put on HUD right now matters. After you sign the petition, we’ll follow up with concrete additional opportunities to fight back against this rule.
We have less than two months to build broad opposition to HUD's shameful and discriminatory rule. Join the calls for HUD to withdraw this proposal by adding your name to the petition now.
Thanks for all you do.
–Aliya, Saskia, Kenia, Nakia, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Trans people could soon be banned from homeless shelters," The 19th, May 1, 2026
https://19thnews.org/2026/05/trump-administration-transgender-access-homeless-shelters
2. "Housing & Homelessness," A4TE, accessed May 8, 2026
https://transequality.org/issues/housing-homelessness
3. "Homelessness and Housing Instability Among LGBTQ Youth," The Trevor Project, February 3, 2022
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/research-briefs/homelessness-and-housing-instability-among-lgbtq-youth-feb-2022/
4. "Trans people could soon be banned from homeless shelters," The 19th, May 1, 2026
https://19thnews.org/2026/05/trump-administration-transgender-access-homeless-shelters
5. "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity," Federal Register, February 3, 2012
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2012/02/03/2012-2343/equal-access-to-housing-in-hud-programs-regardless-of-sexual-orientation-or-gender-identity
6. "HUD Issues Final Rule To Ensure Equal Access To Housing And Services Regardless Of Gender Identity," U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, September 20, 2016
https://archives.hud.gov/news/2016/pr16-137.cfm
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