Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Passport Gender Policy, Expands Protections Nationwide

by Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Staff

(Worthy News) – A federal judge in Boston has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to restrict U.S. passport gender markers to biological sex, issuing a sweeping preliminary injunction on Tuesday that applies nationwide.

U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick’s ruling halts President Donald Trump’s January executive order, which mandated that federal identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, reflect only a person’s biological sex. The order also suspended the issuance of passports bearing an “X” gender marker, which had been available to transgender and nonbinary Americans under prior policies.

Kobick’s decision builds upon an earlier April injunction that applied to six individual plaintiffs. The judge granted the plaintiffs’ request to certify the case as a class action, expanding legal protections to a broad group of Americans.

The injunction now applies to all individuals “whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to them under the Passport Policy and/or who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” as well as those who have applied, or would apply, for passports with an “M,” “F,” or “X” designation that reflects their gender identity rather than their biological sex.

“This ruling ensures that thousands of Americans will not be forced to carry government identification that misrepresents who they are,” said an attorney for the plaintiffs. “It is a vital safeguard against discrimination.”

The Trump administration had argued that the passport restrictions were part of a broader initiative to “restore biological truth” in federal records. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government, directing agencies to implement identification changes aligning with biological sex.

Tuesday’s ruling marks another setback for the administration, which has faced multiple nationwide injunctions that have stymied key policy initiatives.

The Department of Justice recently urged the Supreme Court to rein in district courts’ use of nationwide injunctions, arguing they infringe on the president’s executive authority.

“For the first 170 years of American jurisprudence, nationwide injunctions were virtually unknown,” Solicitor General John Sauer noted in a filing. “Their proliferation threatens the balance of power between the branches of government.”

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling.

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