In a groundbreaking decision, US District Judge Julia Kobick has liberated all transgender Americans to change their gender markers on their passports. This decision rescinds a policy established under the Trump administration. The ruling expands a preliminary injunction. This injunction had originally stopped the US State Department from enforcing a passport policy requiring that sex designations align with an individual’s sex assigned at birth.
The legal battle stems from an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump on his first day in office, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” This order mandated that passports conform to the biological sex assigned at birth, leading to the US State Department’s announcement that it “would no longer issue US passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker.” Instead, male (M) or female (F) designations would be assigned according to the sex recorded at birth.
With her recent decision, Judge Kobick took a courageous stand. She ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which had sued on behalf of six transgender and nonbinary plaintiffs. The ruling has a direct national impact on all those who today do not have a legally valid passport. It even applies to those who have passports expiring within the year ahead, or need to apply for a new passport because of loss or theft, or wish to change their name or sex designation on their passport.
The judge ruled that the executive order was likely unconstitutional, noting that it discriminated against transgender people. Her preliminary injunction allows the six plaintiffs to receive passports that match their gender identity. Beyond the immediate implications this decision promotes larger access for all transgender citizens.
The ACLU promised it would continue to “vigorously fight” for the rights of transgender people. A representative stated, “We will continue fighting until this executive order is blocked permanently.”
The Trump administration had maintained that the passport policy change “does not violate the equal protection guarantees of the constitution.” Judge Kobick’s ruling takes a sledge hammer to this claim. Most importantly, it underscores the essential importance of equal treatment under the law for all people, regardless of their gender identity.
As of January 9, at least one of the plaintiffs has already sent in their passport. They asked for a name change and for their sex designation to be updated from male to female. This first-person narrative illustrates the uphill battle most transgender people face every day. They want their identities recognized and affirmed by the government and expressed through official documents.