Jace Eon Ilias, a bedridden trans man with terminal Huntington's disease, was deported from Finland on September 15th. Officially, he was deemed a danger to Finnish society due to an accusation of threatening behavior towards police, after an outburst that doctors consider a sympton of his medical condition — and without the opportunity to have this accusation tried in court.
This, despite him being largely unable to walk, let alone hurt anybody. This, despite him being legally married to a Finnish citizen and having sought a residence permit on the basis of family ties.
This is an unacceptable decision on the part of Finnish authorities. While I will not personally be able to attend, there is a demonstration in support of Jace planned today at 18:00 in front of the Oodi Library in Helsinki (location on OpenStreetMap). I encourage all to come up if you can.
The United States is not known for having a functional healthcare system for those unable to pay. While the risk of transphobic violence is very real, the East Coast region to which Jace was deported thankfully remains one of the safest places for trans adults; the overwhelmingly greatest risk to Jace's wellbeing comes from the difficulties he will face in securing approriate health care. This is a problem that can be alleviated by money, and although I am not currently aware of anyone taking donations for Jace's medical care, it would be worth keeping your eyes open if a GoFundMe or similar collection is started.
I am myself a trans American. I naturalized Finnish in late November of 2023. Watching how both American and Finnish politics have evolved over the last few years, I am increasingly grateful that I (so to speak) got in before the door closed — and increasingly aware of how much harder that process would have been if I had not been fully able to work and study.
The door should be open to everyone. And I, and many others, are going to open it again.