Latest news with #JudgeKobick
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge extends block on Trump passport policy to all trans, nonbinary Americans
A federal judge on Tuesday extended an order blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a policy requiring identity documents to reflect an individual's sex 'at conception' to all transgender, nonbinary and intersex Americans who want to change the sex designation on their passports. A previous ruling, handed down in April, had ordered the State Department to allow only six trans and nonbinary plaintiffs named in a federal lawsuit to obtain passports with sex designations matching their gender identity while the case proceeds. The lawsuit, filed in February in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues the administration's policy 'is motivated by impermissible animus.' The plaintiffs' legal team at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Massachusetts and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP asked the court in April to certify a class of people adversely affected by the passport policy and extend the preliminary injunction to those who are currently impacted or may be impacted in the future. Judge Julia E. Kobick, an appointee of former President Biden, granted that request on Tuesday. She wrote in her ruling that the six named plaintiffs and the new class of plaintiffs 'face the same injury: they cannot obtain a passport with a sex designation that aligns with their gender identity.' In granting the initial preliminary injunction in April, Kobick wrote that the federal government had failed 'to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest.' The State Department suspended processing applications from Americans seeking to update their passports with a new gender marker in January, shortly after President Trump signed an executive order proclaiming the U.S. recognizes only two sexes, male and female, and that those sexes 'are not changeable.' The order, which Trump signed during his first hours back in office, directs the departments of State and Homeland Security and the Office of Personnel Management to require government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas and Global Entry cards, to reflect an individual's sex at birth over their gender identity. The State Department previously allowed U.S. passport holders to self-select their sex designations, including an 'unspecified' gender marker denoted by the letter X. Kobick wrote in her ruling on Tuesday that passports are used not just for international travel but also for more common and mundane tasks such as filling out employment paperwork, opening a bank account or renting a car. 'Absent preliminary injunctive relief, these plaintiffs may effectively be forced to out themselves as transgender or non-binary every time they present their passport,' Kobick wrote, making them more vulnerable to discrimination, harassment and violence and increasing their experiences of anxiety and psychological distress. In a 2022 survey, 22 percent of transgender adults said they were verbally harassed, assaulted, asked to leave an establishment or denied services after they presented an identity document with a name or gender that did not match their gender presentation. In a statement, Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said Tuesday's ruling 'acknowledges the immediate and profound negative impact' of the Trump administration's policy. 'This decision is a critical victory against discrimination and for equal justice under the law,' said Li Nowlin-Sohl, senior staff attorney for the ACLU's LGBTQ & HIV Project. 'But it's also a historic win in the fight against this administration's efforts to drive transgender people out of public life. The State Department's policy is a baseless barrier for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans and denies them the dignity we all deserve.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Judge blocks Trump administration passport policy targeting transgender people
A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the State Department from enforcing an executive order that required Americans to select their gender assigned at birth on new passports. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick ruled Tuesday that any individual who needs to renew their passport because it expires within one year, apply for a new passport or change their name or sex designation may choose the gender that they identify with. Applicants can also still select "X" on a passport application form. Kobick's ruling expanded an earlier decision in April that only applied to six of the original plaintiffs. The executive order, issued by Mr. Trump on Inauguration Day, directed the State Department to no longer issue U.S. passports with anything other than a male or female designation. It reversed a previous policy under the Biden administration that allowed for Americans to self-select their gender on their passport application, and included an "X" for those who do not identify as either male or female. If passports with the "X" marker expired and were renewed under the new policy, those people who had previously selected it would be forced to choose male or female. In February, a group of transgender and nonbinary plaintiffs backed by the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over the policy, claiming that the executive order was discriminatory against them. In April, Kobick ruled that the Trump administration failed to provide a rationale for the new passport policy "related to an important governmental interest" and found that the policy discriminated against transgender Americans. "Viewed as a whole, the language of the Executive Order is candid in its rejection of the identity of an entire group—transgender Americans—who have always existed and have long been recognized in, among other fields, law and the medical profession," Kobick wrote in her April decision. The judge reaffirmed Tuesday that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their case. "This decision acknowledges the immediate and profound negative impact that the Trump administration's passport policy has on the ability of people across the country to travel for work, school, and family," said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "The Trump administration's passport policy attacks the foundations of the right to privacy and the freedom for all people to live their lives safely and with dignity. We will continue to fight to stop this unlawful policy once and for all." The Justice Department appealed Kobick's April ruling last week. A State Department spokesperson told CBS News, "As a general matter, we do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation." CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. contributed to this report.
