BOSTON — A federal judge has halted the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary individuals.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick ruled that people who are transgender or nonbinary — and either applying for a new passport or needing to replace one — must be allowed to select male, female, or “X” as their gender marker, rather than being restricted to the gender assigned at birth.
This follows a January executive order from the president, which defined gender strictly as male or female, rejecting the concept of transitioning to a different gender from one’s assigned sex at birth.
Judge Kobick initially issued a limited injunction last month affecting only six individuals involved in an ACLU-led lawsuit. Her new ruling broadens the scope to cover all transgender and nonbinary people who don’t have a current passport, whose passports will expire within a year, or who need a new passport due to loss, theft, or to update their name or gender marker.
The White House has not commented on the decision. Kobick found that the government failed to demonstrate any constitutional harm from suspending the policy, nor did it show the change would damage international relations. In contrast, affected individuals showed the policy likely infringes on their constitutional right to equal protection.
She noted that even if the Executive Branch experiences some constitutional impact, it’s a result of enforcing a policy that likely violates the rights of many Americans. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Kobick supported the ACLU’s request for a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of the policy during ongoing litigation.
Kobick explained that the policy discriminates based on sex and is therefore subject to intermediate scrutiny — a standard the government did not satisfy, as it failed to prove the policy serves a significant governmental interest.
The ACLU’s lawsuit detailed personal stories, including one woman whose passport was returned with the wrong gender and others afraid to apply for fear of having their documents withheld. One applicant, who requested to update their name and gender on January 9, still hadn’t received their passport, potentially causing them to miss important personal and professional events.
The Trump administration countered that the policy does not breach equal protection rights and asserted the president has wide authority over passport regulations, claiming the plaintiffs remain able to travel internationally.
