A federal judge has temporarily blocked a controversial executive order signed by former President Donald Trump that sought to move transgender women to men’s prisons and end their access to hormone therapy. The order, which was signed on Trump’s first day back in office on January 20, directed the federal government to recognize only two genders—male and female—and mandated the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to house transgender women in men’s facilities.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three transgender women, argues that the order discriminates against transgender people and violates their constitutional rights. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1987, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, granting them a temporary restraining order. Lamberth noted that the transgender women were at a heightened risk of physical and sexual violence in men’s prisons, violating their Eighth Amendment rights.
The ruling comes after a separate decision in Boston, where a judge blocked the transfer of another transgender woman to a men’s facility. Lamberth emphasized that the BOP did not provide evidence that the plaintiffs posed a threat to female inmates and argued that halting their hormone therapy would not serve the public interest.
The Justice Department has yet to comment on the ruling, and the lawsuit will continue to progress. Legal experts, including Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, have called the policy dangerous, claiming it would lead to increased violence and chaos in the prison system.
This court decision is a significant blow to the Trump administration’s policies targeting transgender rights and comes amid widespread criticism from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, who argue that the policy is both cruel and unconstitutional.
