A transgender software engineer who left San Francisco seeking asylum in the Netherlands after saying life in the United States had become unsafe has returned home after Dutch authorities rejected the asylum claim and ordered the individual to leave the country.
Jane-Michelle Arc, 48, had argued that the political climate in the United States, particularly following President Donald Trump’s return to office, left the country unsafe for transgender people. Arc told both the Daily Mail and The Guardian that experiences in San Francisco, including confrontations while using women’s restrooms and what was described as a frightening encounter involving a truck, contributed to the decision to leave.
BS BRIEF: Jane-Michelle Arc, a 48-year-old software engineer from California who sought asylum in the Netherlands after leaving the United States, says he now fears for his safety inside and around the country’s largest asylum reception center, Ter Apel. Dutch authorities have…
— Common Sense with Chad Law (@chadparkerlaw) July 27, 2026
Arc told The Guardian that daily life had become so stressful that leaving home felt impossible without transportation waiting outside.
After arriving in Amsterdam, Arc attempted to seek asylum from Dutch immigration officials.
“And they laughed because: what’s this big dumb American doing here asking about asylum? And then they realized I was serious,” Arc told The Guardian.
Like other asylum applicants, Arc was directed into the Netherlands’ asylum system, including a stay at the Ter Apel reception center, which has drawn attention in recent years because of overcrowding.
The Guardian reported that new arrivals at times have been forced to sleep in tents when the facility exceeded capacity. Arc described the first days there as difficult, saying the room was small and in poor condition.
Although residents are generally free to leave the grounds during the day, they are required to return for regular bed checks while their applications are processed.
Arc said many people questioned why an American would seek asylum in the Netherlands.
“I hear a lot of people saying: ‘You are an idiot. You came here from America,'” Arc told The Guardian.
According to Arc, people were often surprised to learn that the move had come from San Francisco, a city widely regarded as welcoming to LGBT residents.
“‘Did you think about moving to California?’ And then I say: ‘Well, I lived in San Francisco’ and then they go: ‘Oh, that’s a heaven for gay people,'” Arc said.
Arc maintained that personal experiences as a transgender woman differed from the city’s broader reputation.
In posts published on a personal Substack, Arc described struggling physically and emotionally after arriving in the Netherlands. The writings referenced severe stress, health issues, grief, and heavy alcohol use during parts of the asylum process while reflecting on the difficulty of starting over in a new country.
Arc also criticized the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), writing that the agency showed little concern for asylum seekers whose claims were denied.
Despite those frustrations, Arc wrote that life in the Netherlands had begun to improve before the asylum process came to an end, saying new friendships had formed and a routine had developed.
Ultimately, however, Dutch authorities did not grant asylum, and Arc returned to the United States.
After returning, Arc wrote on Substack that federal identification policies had resulted in being legally recognized as male.
“I was recently in the Netherlands, and upon my return to the United States an unexpected thing happened: the government decided that after a very long time of being comfortably, legally, physically, socially a woman, that I am now a man,” Arc wrote.
Arc added that, despite disagreeing with the policy, there was little ability to challenge it immediately.
