A lawsuit challenging a policy mandating the listing of transgender individuals as their birth sex on passports under the Trump administration is currently being decided by a federal judge in Boston. Zaya Perysian, a transgender woman who received a passport listing her as male, is one of seven plaintiffs arguing that the policy is unconstitutional. Perysian, along with her lawyer from the ACLU, expressed frustration at being forced into a situation where her identity was inaccurately represented on official documents. The lawsuit contends that the policy discriminates against transgender individuals and could put them at risk while traveling abroad. The policy, implemented following an executive order signed by former President Trump, directed the State Department to only issue passports reflecting the holder’s biological sex. The ACLU, representing the plaintiffs, claims that this policy goes against decades of State Department practice and infringes on the rights of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals. Under the Biden administration, new passport applications now allow for a neutral sex marker “X” in addition to the traditional “M” or “F” options. The case is being closely watched as it has significant implications for the rights and identities of transgender individuals.
District Judge Julia Kobick, currently presiding over the lawsuit, stated that Trump possesses “significant authority to establish guidelines for passport issuance,” enabling him to revoke Biden’s policy aimed at ensuring a uniform method for identifying individuals across federal agencies. However, during a hearing on March 25, Kobick, appointed by Biden, exhibited doubts regarding this assertion. She questioned the argument, suggesting that the policy might be viewed as discriminatory. “It appears to disregard the importance of recognizing gender identity,” she remarked. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Omar Younis in Los Angeles, and Roselle Chen in New York; Editing by Stephen Coates, Alexia Garamfalvi, and Rosalba O’Brien)
