Latest news with #Kobick
an hour ago
- Politics
Judge says government can't limit passport sex markers for many transgender people
BOSTON -- A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. Tuesday's ruling from U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick means that transgender or nonbinary people who are without a passport or need to apply for a new one can request a male, female or 'X' identification marker rather than being limited to the marker that matches the gender assigned at birth. In an executive order signed in January, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order said a person is male or female and rejected the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. Kobick first issued a preliminary injunction against the policy last month, but that ruling applied only to six people who joined with the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit over the passport policy. In Tuesday's ruling she agreed to expand the injunction to include transgender or nonbinary people who are currently without a valid passport, those whose passport is expiring within a year, and those who need to apply for a passport because theirs was lost or stolen or because they need to change their name or sex designation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government failed to show that blocking its policy would cause it any constitutional injury, Kobick wrote, or harm the executive branch's relations with other countries. The transgender and nonbinary people covered by the preliminary injunction, meanwhile, have shown that the passport policy violates their constitutional rights to equal protection, Kobick said. 'Even assuming a preliminary injunction inflicts some constitutional harm on the Executive Branch, such harm is the consequence of the State Department's adoption of a Passport Policy that likely violates the constitutional rights of thousands of Americans,' Kobick wrote. Kobick, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, sided with the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction, which stays the action while the lawsuit plays out. 'The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,' Kobick wrote in the preliminary injunction issued earlier this year. 'That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.' In its lawsuit, the ACLU described how one woman had her passport returned with a male designation while others are too scared to submit their passports because they fear their applications might be suspended and their passports held by the State Department. Another mailed in their passport Jan. 9 and requested to change their name and their sex designation from male to female. That person was still waiting for their passport, the ACLU said in the lawsuit, and feared missing a family wedding and a botany conference this year. In response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration argued that the passport policy change 'does not violate the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution.' It also contended that the president has broad discretion in setting passport policy and that plaintiffs would not be harmed since they are still free to travel abroad.
Politico
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Politico
Judge says government can't limit passport sex markers for many transgender, nonbinary people
BOSTON — A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers for many transgender and nonbinary Americans. Tuesday's ruling from U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick means that transgender or nonbinary people who are without a passport or need to apply for a new one can request a male, female or 'X' identification marker rather than being limited to the marker that matches the gender assigned at birth. In an executive order signed in January, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order said a person is male or female and rejected the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. Kobick first issued a preliminary injunction against the policy last month, but that ruling applied only to six people who joined with the American Civil Liberties Union in a lawsuit over the passport policy. In Tuesday's ruling she agreed to expand the injunction to include transgender or nonbinary people who are currently without a valid passport, those whose passport is expiring within a year, and those who need to apply for a passport because theirs was lost or stolen or because they need to change their name or sex designation. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The government failed to show that blocking its policy would cause it any constitutional injury, Kobick wrote, or harm the executive branch's relations with other countries. The transgender and nonbinary people covered by the preliminary injunction, meanwhile, have shown that the passport policy violates their constitutional rights to equal protection, Kobick said. 'Even assuming a preliminary injunction inflicts some constitutional harm on the Executive Branch, such harm is the consequence of the State Department's adoption of a Passport Policy that likely violates the constitutional rights of thousands of Americans,' Kobick wrote. Kobick, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, sided with the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction, which stays the action while the lawsuit plays out. 'The Executive Order and the Passport Policy on their face classify passport applicants on the basis of sex and thus must be reviewed under intermediate judicial scrutiny,' Kobick wrote in the preliminary injunction issued earlier this year. 'That standard requires the government to demonstrate that its actions are substantially related to an important governmental interest. The government has failed to meet this standard.' In its lawsuit, the ACLU described how one woman had her passport returned with a male designation while others are too scared to submit their passports because they fear their applications might be suspended and their passports held by the State Department. Another mailed in their passport Jan. 9 and requested to change their name and their sex designation from male to female. That person was still waiting for their passport, the ACLU said in the lawsuit, and feared missing a family wedding and a botany conference this year. In response to the lawsuit, the Trump administration argued that the passport policy change 'does not violate the equal protection guarantees of the Constitution.' It also contended that the president has broad discretion in setting passport policy and that plaintiffs would not be harmed since they are still free to travel abroad.
UPI
5 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
Judge expands order against Trump administration's passport gender policy
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday expanded an order against the State Department's passport policy to include all applicants who are transgender or nonbinary. File Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo June 17 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday expanded an order against the State Department's passport policy to include all applicants who are transgender or nonbinary, saying the "passport policy violates their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws." Judge Julia Kobick granted a first preliminary injunction in April, which blocked the State Department's policy for only six of seven people who originally sued. On Tuesday, the judge expanded it to plaintiffs who were added to the suit, and nearly all trans and nonbinary Americans seeking new passports or changes. Kobick, an appointee of former President Biden, wrote 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." "The plaintiffs have demonstrated that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their claims that the Passport Policy violates their constitutional right to equal protection of the laws and runs afoul of the safeguards of the APA," Kobick wrote in Tuesday's opinion, while referring to the Administrative Procedure Act which governs how policies are adopted. After taking office earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, proclaiming the United States recognizes only two sexes -- male and female -- and that those sexes "are not changeable." Trump then ordered government-issued identification documents, including U.S. passports, to reflect a person's sex at birth. "We will no longer issue U.S. passports or Consular Reports of Birth Abroad with an X marker," according the State Department. "We will only issue passports with an M or F sex marker that match the customer's biological sex at birth." Under the Biden administration, passport holders could self-select gender designation, including "unspecified" which was designated by the letter X. The Trump administration appealed Kobick's ruling in April. On Tuesday, Kobick wrote that forcing transgender and nonbinary people to choose between two sexes makes them more vulnerable to discrimination. "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. The legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts celebrated Tuesday's ruling and vowed to "continue to fight." "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," Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, said in a statement. "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," Rossman added. "We will continue to fight to stop this unlawful policy once and for all."
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Judge blocks Trump administration's passport policy targeting transgender and non-binary Americans
A federal judge, has issued a sweeping injunction against the Trump administration's policy that restricted passport gender markers, marking a major victory for transgender and non-binary Americans seeking accurate identification. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick's ruling, delivered Tuesday in Boston, prevents the State Department from enforcing an executive order that required passport applicants to select only the gender assigned at birth-male or female-on their documents. The order, signed by President Trump in January, reversed a 2022 policy that had allowed Americans to self-select their gender marker, including an 'X' option for non-binary individuals. Judge Kobick's preliminary injunction expands an earlier, narrower order that applied to just six plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Now, the protection covers all transgender and nonbinary Americans who need to obtain a new passport, renew an expiring one, or update their name or sex designation due to loss, theft, or personal changes. In her decision, Kobick found that the government's policy likely violated the Fifth Amendment's equal protection clause. She wrote, 'The Executive Order and the Passport Policy inherently categorize passport applicants based on sex and consequently must undergo intermediate judicial scrutiny. The government has not met this criterion'. Kobick emphasized that the administration failed to show that halting the policy would harm the executive branch or U.S. foreign relations, while affected individuals demonstrated clear constitutional harm. The ACLU's lawsuit highlighted real-world impacts: one woman received her passport with a male designation, and others reported fears of delays or confiscation if their applications didn't align with the new policy. Another applicant, who requested a change from male to female, was still awaiting her passport months later, risking missing family and professional events. Live Events The Trump administration argued that the policy did not violate constitutional protections and asserted broad presidential authority over passport regulations . However, Kobick's ruling ensures that, for now, transgender and nonbinary Americans retain the right to accurate federal identification as the legal battle continues. The White House has not yet commented on the ruling.
GMA Network
6 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
US judge blocks Trump passport policy targeting transgender people
BOSTON — A federal judge on Tuesday blocked US President Donald Trump's administration from refusing to issue passports to transgender and nonbinary Americans nationwide that reflect their gender identities. US District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston expanded a preliminary injunction she issued in April that allowed six transgender and nonbinary individuals who challenged the policy to obtain passports consistent with their gender identities or with an "X" sex designation while the lawsuit moves forward. Kobick did so after concluding the policy the US Department of State adopted pursuant to an executive order Trump signed likely discriminated on the basis of sex and was rooted in an irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans that violated the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment. While Kobick's April ruling was limited in its scope, the judge, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, on Tuesday granted the case class action status and halted the policy's enforcement against transgender, nonbinary and intersex passport holders. Kobick said granting class action status to two categories of passport holders was appropriate given that the administration's actions affected them uniformly "by preventing them from obtaining passports with a sex marker consistent with their gender identity." Li Nowlin-Sohl, a lawyer for the plaintiffs at the American Civil Liberties Union, called the ruling "a critical victory against discrimination and for equal justice under the law." White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement called the decision "yet another attempt by a rogue judge to thwart President Trump's agenda and push radical gender ideology that defies biological truth." The case is one of several concerning an executive order Trump signed after returning to office on January 20 directing the government to recognize only two biologically distinct sexes, male and female. The order also directed the State Department to change its policies to only issue passports that "accurately reflect the holder's sex." The State Department subsequently changed its passport policy to "request the applicant's biological sex at birth," rather than permit applicants to self-identify their sex, and to only allow them to be listed as male or female. Prior to Trump, the State Department for more than three decades allowed people to update the sex designation on their passports. In 2022, the Biden administration allowed passport applicants to choose "X" as a neutral sex marker on their passport applications, as well as being able to self-select "M" or "F" for male or female. — Reuters
