Trump administration seeks supreme court intervention to restrict trans passport rights

The Trump administration has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate a policy that would limit the ability of transgender, non-binary, and intersex Americans to obtain passports accurately reflecting their gender identity.

The Justice Department submitted an emergency request to the Supreme Court on Friday, seeking to overturn a lower court's injunction that prevents the State Department from enforcing a Trump-directed policy. This policy stems from an executive order issued earlier this year, which mandates that the government recognize only two sexes: male and female, based solely on biological characteristics.

The administration argues that the injunction, issued by U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston, lacks legal basis. They claim that compelling the government to use what they deem "inaccurate sex designations" on passports infringes upon the President's constitutional authority to communicate with foreign governments.

As reported by Reuters, Judge Kobick initially issued a preliminary injunction in April, protecting six transgender and nonbinary plaintiffs from the policy's enforcement. The ruling was later expanded to encompass all similarly situated transgender, nonbinary, and intersex passport applicants. Kobick, a Biden appointee, determined that the State Department's policy was discriminatory and based on prejudice towards transgender individuals, violating their equal protection rights under the Fifth Amendment.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Kobick's injunction on September 4, prompting the Trump administration to seek intervention from the Supreme Court.

The ACLU, representing the plaintiffs, condemned the administration's actions. Jon Davidson, Senior Counsel for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project, stated that the policy is "an unjustifiable and discriminatory action that restricts the essential rights of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex citizens." He further emphasized the ACLU's commitment to defending the rights of transgender individuals, including their freedom to travel safely and to be free from government discrimination.

Prior to the Trump administration, the State Department had, for over three decades, allowed individuals to update the sex designation on their passports. In 2022, the Biden administration introduced the option for passport applicants to choose "X" as a gender-neutral marker, alongside the traditional "M" and "F" options.

The Trump administration's executive order defines "sex" as an individual's "immutable biological classification as either male or female," requiring passports to "accurately reflect the holder's sex" based on this definition.

Justice Department lawyers, in their filing to the Supreme Court, argued that "the Constitution does not prohibit the government from defining sex in terms of an individual's biological classification." The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will hear the case.