A federal judge in Massachusetts has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's policy that eliminated the X gender marker on U.S. passports. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick noted that the policy, which reflects former President Trump's executive order restricting gender recognition, fails to pass judicial scrutiny. A lawsuit filed by several transgender and nonbinary individuals claimed the policy invited discrimination and violence. The American Civil Liberties Union supports the plaintiffs, emphasizing the right to accurate identity documents for transgender Americans.
"The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny," Kobick wrote, according to the AP. "That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard."
"We all have a right to accurate identity documents, and this policy invites harassment, discrimination, and violence against transgender Americans who can no longer obtain or renew a passport that matches who they are," ACLU lawyer Sruti Swaminathan said, as reported by the AP.
A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the Trump administration's move to cease offering the X gender marker on U.S. passports or allowing passport holders to change their gender marker.
Under Biden, the State Department made the X option available to all applicants in 2020.
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