Washington DC: A US federal judge on Tuesday mandated that the Trump administration must resume issuing passports to transgender Americans that include "X" as a gender option. This practice had been halted following Donald Trump's return to the White House.2

In January, subsequent to an executive order by President Trump, the State Department declared it would only acknowledge two gender options, male and female.3 This decision effectively ended previous policies that recognized a third gender, indicated by an "X" on US passports.

In April, US District Judge Julia Kobick in Boston initially issued a preliminary injunction against this new policy. However, this initial ruling was limited in scope, applying only to six transgender and non-binary individuals who had filed a lawsuit against the government concerning the passport policy.

The State Department filed an appeal against that preliminary injunction on Friday.

On Tuesday, Judge Kobick broadened her ruling significantly. She extended the order to encompass all transgender and non-binary Americans affected by the policy alteration.

Furthermore, she directed the State Department to recommence issuing these "X" gender passports while the court deliberates the merits of the case or until a higher court issues a decision.

The US State Department initially began issuing passports with an "X" gender marker in October 2021 under the presidency of Joe Biden. This marker was specifically intended for individuals who identify as non-binary, intersex, or gender non-conforming.

During his inauguration speech at the US Capitol, President Trump stated, "as of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female."
(With AFP inputs)