Erika Hilton Cancels U.S. Trip to Harvard & MIT Over 'Transfobia de Estado', Plans to Sue Trump's Administration

Brazilian federal deputy Erika Hilton (PSOL-SP) has canceled her trip to the United States after receiving a visa that listed her gender as male, despite her Brazilian civil documents being updated to reflect her female gender. Hilton was set to attend the Brazil Conference at Harvard & MIT 2025, an event she was invited to as part of an official diplomatic mission authorized by the Chamber of Deputies. The visa, issued in early April, marked a change from a previous visa granted in 2023, which correctly identified Hilton as female. The parliamentarian attributes the alteration to new directives from the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order in January 2025 limiting gender options on official forms to 'male' and 'feminino'. Hilton has described this as 'Transfobia de Estado'. Hilton has announced plans to take legal action against the U.S. government at the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, citing state-sponsored transphobia and disregard for her official Brazilian documents. She expressed concerns about the treatment she might receive upon entering the U.S. and felt that her country's sovereignty was being disrespected. She has contacted the Itamaraty to discuss the issue. In a separate issue, Hilton has filed a lawsuit against sports commentator Sérgio Maurício from Band, seeking 70,000 reais in moral damages after he referred to her as a 'human fake news' on social media. The case is being processed in the São Paulo Court of Justice.