Trump’s ‘both genders’ order sparks fear in trans communities

LGBTQ+ advocates expect President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring there are “only two sexes, male and female,” to have far-reaching effects on federal agencies and the lives of transgender people.

Hours after taking office, Trump signed a general order urging federal agencies to revoke policies issued under Joe Biden that made it easier for trans people to update the gender marker on passports and other federal documents. It directs the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security to require that “government-issued identity documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the gender of the holder.” .

The Trump administration defines sex by the reproductive cells a person will produce as an adult. This narrow definition, which ignores how biology experts understanding gender, reflects definitions used in national legislation that prohibits transgender people from updating their driver’s license, birth certificate and identity card.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said NOTUS As of Tuesday, the order will not impact passports issued before Trump took office.

But Leavitt said passports issued in the future, including those that are renewed, will display the gender marker that reflects a person’s sex assigned at birth.

“They just have to use the gender that God gave them, which was decided at birth,” Leavitt said. “Thanks to President Trump, the official policy of the federal government is now that there are only two sexes: male and female.”

It is too early to tell what impact this order will have on the requests of individuals currently seeking to update their gender marker on federal documents.

“I don’t think we know the answer to what will happen with pending applications, or how safe it is to travel. I think a document issued by the U.S. government that was valid at the time it was issued is still valid,” Chase Strangio, senior attorney at the ACLU, told reporters at a press briefing Tuesday. “S “They’re trying to suggest otherwise, it raises questions and we’re paying attention.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

The executive order requires Trump’s aide for legislative affairs to deliver a bill to codify those definitions within 30 days, although LGBTQ+ advocates are unclear if or how that will happen.

Yet this order has already caused widespread panic and confusion among trans communities.

Los Angeles-based artist Page Greene was scheduled to travel to Mexico next week to perform at a queer music and arts festival. But when Trump announced his executive order, Greene began to reconsider her trip. She updated her photo and gender on her passport, but the document still reflects her deceased name, as she is still waiting for her legal name change to be finalized next month.

Greene fears that traveling as a trans woman in light of this executive order could land her in trouble with customs. A lawyer, who was not identified, said NBC News that trans people, especially those with an X gender marker on their passport, should be careful when traveling because they could be stopped by border agents.

“I’m not trying to get detained,” Greene said. “And I can’t afford to lose my job.”

Greene said she contacted the State Department to ask if she would be allowed to re-enter the country on her passport and did not receive a reassuring response.

“I called the State Department every day and they said, ‘We don’t have any information for you, but we can’t guarantee that you will be admitted back into the country.’ »

LGBTQ+ advocates at the ACLU and Lambda Legal are urging trans people to bring to their attention any issues they are experiencing with their currently valid passports.

Beyond passports, the order takes broad and vague aim at various policies affecting trans people, including calling for trans women to be housed with men in federal prisons and ending all affirming care gender issues for incarcerated trans people.

The order also calls for reducing federal funds dedicated to promoting “gender ideology,” which it essentially defines as the belief in the existence of transgender people and their identities.

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, senior attorney and health care strategist at Lambda Legal, said the order signals “an abandonment by this administration when it comes to enforcing civil rights protections for transgender people.”

“While this order is not necessarily effective immediately, it provides an indication of the direction this administration is taking and insight into its priorities,” he added.