Trans Org Fights Back Against Trump’s War On LGBTQ+ Rights

When President Donald Trump entered his second term and declared another war on LGBTQ+ rights in America, the blowback was felt almost immediately.

At the top of the year, Trump spent his first 24 hours in office firing off a blitz of executive actions impacting marginalized communities, some orders including direct attacks on immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion practices and trans rights nationwide as part of his promised right-wing 2.0 agenda.

Since then, the Trump administration has followed through on plans to roll back protections of trans and nonbinary people with harmful policies and bans denying both their personhood and identity, reportedly more than any president in American history. The repercussions thus far have been devastating, especially for those at the intersection of the president’s ongoing anti-immigrant, anti-DEI and anti-trans crusade.

For the TransLatin@ Coalition (TLC), one of the nation’s leading trans and immigration rights advocacy organizations, the consequences have been felt most deeply in terms of funding.

As early as February, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit began receiving notices that changes enacted by the Trump administration would impact federal funds used to finance multiple services it provides to the local community, including housing and case management, violence prevention services, mental health support, and re-entry programs.

“Our organization is currently experiencing defunding from multiple sources, to the point where we had to close two of our centers and lay off about 10 of our staff,” TLC president and CEO Bamby Salcedo tells celebrity.land. “So we’re trying to, essentially, supplement the funding that we’re losing, while, at the same time, continue to provide the services to our community.”

The latter is what partially inspired the organization to launch its first Walk4Humanity fundraiser in Los Angeles on Aug. 24.

A crisis response to the Trump administration’s destructive anti-trans campaign and local ICE raids, the inaugural event was catalyzed by political backlash, community suffering and financial strain all at once. However, the financial issues were what initially motivated the organization to take action.

According to Salcedo, portals that have historically been used to request government funds were, at one point, inaccessible to her organization this year, and at least two of its programs have been defunded to the point where they may soon cease operations if financial needs aren’t met. Add to that the fallout of anything associated with DEI, and the nonprofit found itself under attack, especially after it was called out by members of Congress recently, at least “twice in a negative way,” Salcedo says.

“There are people who are extreme right conservative individuals, who essentially are spreading lies about who we are as an organization and the work that we do,” Salcedo said, pointing out their work with policy research and services that better the livelihood of trans, gender-expansive and intersex (TGI) people.

“Once again, [they] spread lies that we received millions of dollars from the federal government,” she continues, “and that we use the money to abolish the police, ICE and to provide abortion access, and that we also are grooming young people.”

That harmful rhetoric isn’t just coming from the federal level, she says, but from many “parts of the MAGA sphere” who have gone out of their way to demonize what organizations like the TLC are doing to stand up for TGI folks’ human rights.

“In my opinion, I think they are seeing the power that we have as an organization and the work that we’re doing,” Salcedo adds, “and so that’s why they want to target us.”

That’s what makes the launch of the Walk4Humanity all the more radical.

At a time when institutions and other entities are cowering under the administration’s aggressive political tactics, the event is an explicit declaration that TGI individuals have the right to live freely in this country without fear of having their humanity ripped away. Moreover, the walk demonstrates the resilience of a community willing to fight against the odds to affirm its existence and ensure its survival.

“The idea is for us to bring all people to stand in solidarity with one another,” Salcedo says of the charity walk.

“Fundraising is one of the main [goals], but also, just for people to get a moment of joy,” she adds. “For all of us to stand in solidarity with one another, forget about the world and just come together as a community.”

On an early morning in LA, dozens of locals and TLC members gathered in the heart of Silver Lake for a two-mile justice walk to Hollywood. Actor-influencer and Walk4Humanity grand marshal Kalen Allen helped open the event with a message about the cause that drew everyone out on the sweltering Sunday.

“Now is the most imperative time that we all come together as a community to do stuff like this to be seen, especially at a time when the administration is trying to silence us, and especially put us in the back,” he declared with urgency at the walk’s kickoff. “We are here to say that will not be the case for us. We will always stand in who we are firmly and in solidarity, no matter where you’re from or who you are.”

Allen has long been a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. With the wide-ranging audience he built during his time on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” the alum saw joining TLC’s event as an obvious chance to help unite diverse communities once again in support of a just cause.

“I knew that it was my mission to be able to support special communities that I’m a part of, and those that don’t have that access or that same visibility to be able to tell their stories,” Allen explains. “I think a lot of that is in the name we’re talking about, Walk4Humanity. Because we’re talking about this thing that all of us have in common, that we are all human beings. And that should be the only basis on which we operate.”

Sadly, that’s not the same mentality shared by the current administration and its supporters, who continue to push anti-trans legislation and language that has forced organizations like TLC to navigate funding cuts and more fallout. It’s that lack of empathy, Allen says, that makes visibility and advocacy of trans and nonbinary folks more critical than ever.

“I think in today’s age, that’s what people don’t understand,” Allen adds. “You don’t have to experience somebody else’s life to be able to have compassion for them, to have empathy for them, to stand and fight for them.”

That sentiment echoed among many attendees at Walk4Humanity. University of Texas at Austin alum Simi Sodipe, 21, a cisgender Black woman, recognized the importance of supporting marginalized communities during her time as an undergraduate, when she got involved with her university’s Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) — established in 2004 as a safe space for women and LGBTQIA+ individuals.

“It basically provided any and all resources for queer students, by queer students,” she shares. “It had sexual wellness products and mental health resources. You could even get binders from there, and they had a food pantry.”

But like the TLC, it, too, was affected by the wave of anti-LBGTQ and anti-DEI legislation sweeping the country. And as a result of Texas’ Senate Bill 17 — which prohibits specified DEI activities at all of the state’s public universities — going into effect last year, the GSC was shut down and replaced by a women’s community center that removed all trainings and workshops related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

“It wasn’t just for queer students,” Sodipe adds. “It was just a support center, honestly. And now it doesn’t exist.”

Unfortunate situations like that are whySodipe felt compelled to support the Walk4Humanity after she saw a trans influencer she follows promoting it. “With all of the negative hate and the sentiment going on,” Sodipe says, “I felt like I had to support, even as someone who’s a cis [woman].”

She adds, “I just believe everybody deserves rights.”

That empathic feeling reverberated throughout this year’s Walk4Humanity, which flowed into a lively block party celebration on Sunday, complete with local vendors and live performances that kept the fundraising event in high spirits.

Even on what felt like the hottest day of the year, a number of folks braved LA’s grueling heat wave to stand in solidarity with the TLC’s mobilization of support. From dancing in the streets to bold fashion statements to sharing their stories with one another, the spirit of resistance was unmistakably present.

But for many attendees, the day wasn’t just about protesting an unjust system determined to make TGI lives more difficult. Walk4Humanity, much like the TLC itself, was about showing up for one another, finding strength in numbers and embracing joy, even in the face of adversity.

“With everything going on, a lot of funding being cut from a lot of different organizations serving the LGBT community, I’m just trying to find ways to take action, to be in community,” says Luis Ortiz, 32, founder and organizer of the Rainbow Beach Ultimate pickup frisbee group.

“While I, myself, am not trans,” he adds, “I have trans family, trans siblings [and] trans friends. But even if I didn’t have that personal stake, being gay, our journeys, our activism, our camaraderie knows no bounds … I’m here for my community, and I’m here for everyone beyond.”

Similarly, fashion designer José Huizar, 40, of LA-based brand Bad Burro, says they also showed up to support the Walk4Humanity as both a member of the LGBTQ+ community and someone who can attest to the powerful work the TLC has been doing for the last 16 years.

“To me, the TransLatin@ has been my family,” they say. “They’ve always opened their doors to me, and I’m always loved by them and I love them, too.”

Others in attendance had a more personal history tied to the TLC‘s cause. One of them was Shannon Axe, a 25-year-old trans woman who shares that she experienced institutional pushback early in life. After coming out at age 7 in 2007, she says officials in her Colorado school district “implemented policies that erased my existence,” igniting a national conversation about trans discrimination in schools.

“When I came out as transgender, I was just a child who simply wanted to be herself, to live openly as a girl, and to go to school like everyone else,” Axe says. “But instead of support, my family and I were thrown into a national media firestorm. Our lives were dissected by strangers, and I was denied admission to a nearby public school solely because I was transgender.”

Axe knows firsthand what it’s like to be treated as a controversy, so when it came to supporting TLC and her longtime friend Salcedo, showing up to Walk4Humanity was both personal and necessary.

“I’m here today because I believe in humanity, I believe in love and I believe in justice,” Axe says. “We just have to keep fighting and keep believing that the light and the love will always win, because the light that is within the trans community is brighter than any other.”

The TLC is hopeful that the Walk4Humanity will bring the organization closer to its financial goals, allowing it to continue serving as a beacon of hope for its community members and beyond. Thanks to participants, the event raised over $416,000 to sustain vital programs, but there’s still much work to be done.

Looking ahead, Salcedo says TLC is focused on implementing legislation that will support trans and immigrant-serving organizations across California, as well as tackling homelessness right here in LA. “The hope is that we continue to provide the services that we have built to support the livelihood of our communities,” she shares.

TLC is also working on fundraising for a new center it plans to open in 2027. “That is where magic is going to continue to happen,” Salcedo announced to attendees on Sunday. “That is where trans people will be empowered.”

As she reminded the crowd that day, the fight for trans liberation in America is far from over. But with an unwavering determination to thrive despite systemic oppression, the community, as it has for decades, will continue to resist and rebuild. It has no choice — their survival depends on it.

“Trans people are going to be who we are, and we are going to make sure that we continue to fuck shit up,” Salcedo proudly proclaimed at the Walk4Humanity.

“We deserve to exist,” she added. “We have a divine permission for us to be here.”