A transgender woman from the US has lost her appeal against being refused a refugee permit by the Dutch immigration minister.

Judges in Amsterdam ruled this week that while the position of transgender people in the US has worsened since the election of president Donald Trump, there are not enough grounds to grant Veronica Clifford Carlos refugee status.

Clifford Carlos, who lives in a refugee centre in Heerlen, claimed that in the US she faced both threats and discrimination, issues which the minister and court agreed are serious. However, the court said, she still had access to healthcare, education and was legally entitled to the protection of the US authorities.

She also had a job and income prior to leaving, and was able to take part in society and use social services, the court said.

The number of transgender Americans asking for asylum in the Netherlands has increased, according to a report in NRC in July, with 33 requests in the first half of the year.

Trump has enacted various measures limiting the rights of transgender persons, such as the exclusion of transgender people from military service and a ban on gender-transition care for minors.

The US government has also further restricted the right of transgender and non-binary people to indicate on a passport the sex that corresponds to their gender identity.

The changes led the Dutch foreign ministry to change its travel advice for LGBTQ people earlier this year. It now informs travellers that “a number of states have introduced local laws which may have negative consequences for LGBTIQ+ people, such as access to healthcare.”

Clifford Carlos, who has not commented publicly on the ruling, will be allowed to wait in the Netherlands for another review of her case. The court has sent her case back to immigration authorities to be looked at again due to a procedural error the first time around.