BY: DM
Published 4 days ago
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Donald Trump’s new passport rules to take effect — at least for now. On Nov. 6, the Court permitted the Trump administration to immediately enforce a policy that blocks transgender and nonbinary Americans from choosing an “X” or identity-aligned gender marker on their passports, according to AP News. Here’s what that means for trans Americans going forward.
“X” Will No Longer Be an Option on U.S. Passports
In a 6–3 unsigned order, the conservative majority stayed a federal judge’s injunction that had forced the State Department to allow people to select “M,” “F,” or “X” to match their gender identity.
The Court said requiring passports to display a holder’s sex at birth is constitutional. The order argued that “displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth.”
Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed, warning that the policy inflicts immediate and unjustified harm on transgender plaintiffs. “Such senseless sidestepping of the obvious equitable outcome has become an unfortunate pattern,” Jackson wrote, per CNN. “So, too, has my own refusal to look the other way when basic principles are selectively discarded. This court has once again paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification.”
Under the Trump rule, all applicants for new or replacement passports will receive an “M” or “F” based strictly on their sex at birth. The policy applies regardless of a person’s gender identity or any previous passport records. The Biden administration had removed documentation requirements in 2021 and added an “X” marker for nonbinary travelers. The Trump order eliminates those protections. It defines sex as an “immutable biological classification” and directs that IDs “accurately reflect” birth sex, according to CBS News.
This temporary victory for the Trump administration means new and renewed passports will now reflect the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate, with no option for a gender-neutral or identity-based marker. The policy stems from President Trump’s January executive order declaring that only two fixed sexes, “male and female,” exist at birth.
LGBTQIA+ and Civil-Rights Groups Are Preparing to Push Back
The ACLU called the ruling a “heartbreaking setback” that “puts transgender people at increased risk of harassment and violence.” Jon Davidson of the ACLU’s LGBTQ Project warned that forcing people to carry passports that out them “against their will” creates a grave danger. ACLU attorney Jessie Rossman said the policy is an “unlawful attempt to dehumanize, humiliate, and endanger” trans, nonbinary, and intersex Americans. She vowed to keep fighting for its reversal in court.
Human Rights Campaign legal director Cathryn Oakley also denounced the rule as outright “discrimination.” In a statement to the Advocate she said the policy exists only “to out our transgender friends and loved ones… to demean and embarrass them… there is no reason to change it other than malice.” Lambda Legal, which sued on behalf of transgender applicants, condemned the decision as well. Counsel Carl Charles called the passports “arbitrary, cruel, and, frankly, dangerous.”
Actress and trans advocate Laverne Cox also spoke out. She told Democracy Now that the Court’s move will not shake the community’s resolve. “No matter what they say about our ID documents, we are still who we are,” she said. “We will find a way to be ourselves no matter what.”
Do you think this policy puts trans Americans at risk when traveling? Comment below!
