Transgender Americans Face Passport Crisis Under Trump-Era Policy
The freedom to travel, a fundamental right for many, has become a source of profound anxiety and injustice for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans due to a controversial policy implemented during the Trump administration. This policy, which dictates that U.S. passports must reflect an applicant’s sex assigned at birth, has left countless individuals stranded in a bureaucratic nightmare, facing denied applications, misgendering documents, and the agonizing choice between abandoning travel plans or presenting identification that invalidates their very identities.
The story of Ashton Orr, a transgender man, vividly illustrates the devastating impact of this policy. In early January, Orr experienced a humiliating encounter with airport security while traveling from West Virginia to New York City. His driver’s license, accurately reflecting his male gender identity, clashed with his passport, which still listed his sex at birth as female. The discrepancy led to accusations of using a fake ID, forcing Orr to disclose his transgender status to security personnel before being allowed to proceed.
The unsettling incident prompted Orr to take immediate action to update his passport. He expedited the renewal process, submitting crucial medical documents, including his birth certificate, on January 16. However, his efforts were quickly thwarted by a sweeping executive order signed by President Donald Trump just days later. This order mandated that all U.S. government identity documents, including passports and visas, must reflect a person’s sex assigned at birth, based on birth certificates and past passport records.
The State Department, adhering to the executive order, began issuing passports with only male or female sex markers that matched the applicant’s biological sex. This policy effectively nullified applications for gender changes and suspended the "X" gender marker, an option introduced in 2022 to accommodate nonbinary or intersex individuals.
Orr found himself trapped in a cruel predicament. He was presented with two unacceptable options: withdraw his passport application altogether or receive a passport that misgendered him, invalidating his identity and creating potential for discrimination and harassment during travel. With his passport application stalled, Orr was forced to reschedule a vital medical procedure in Ireland, highlighting the immediate and tangible consequences of the policy.
"Receiving a passport that misgenders me is not just a clerical error; it’s a profound denial of my identity and my existence," Orr lamented. "So, I’m in this situation where I either have to choose one horrible thing or the other horrible thing."
Orr’s experience is not unique. Thousands of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans have found themselves in similar situations, denied the right to travel and access opportunities that rely on accurate identification. The Trump administration’s policy has fueled safety concerns within these communities, making them more vulnerable to discrimination and harassment both domestically and internationally.
The policy change has sparked widespread outrage and legal action. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), along with the ACLU of Massachusetts and the law firm Covington & Burling LLP, filed a lawsuit against the State Department on behalf of seven plaintiffs, including Orr, seeking to halt the implementation of the policy.
The lawsuit alleges that the State Department failed to provide the required public notice of the change, violated the constitutional rights of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals, and engaged in sex-based discrimination. The complaint emphasizes that the policy restricts individuals’ ability to move freely, pursue work or education opportunities abroad, and live authentically.
"This is about people’s ability to move freely throughout the world. People need to travel abroad for work, for school, for vacation, for joy," said ACLU attorney Aditi Fruitwala. "It’s restricting their ability to live the life that they want to live and that has real symbolic value by trying to push transgender, nonbinary and intersex people out of public life, and saying that they don’t exist in a very concrete, symbolic way. But they’ve always existed through our entire human history, and they’ll always be here."
The case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
The passport ban has added another layer of fear and anxiety to the travel experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals, who already face heightened risks of discrimination and harassment. Matthieu Jost, founder of misterb&b, a travel platform dedicated to providing safe and welcoming accommodations for LGBTQ+ travelers, emphasized the need for increased vigilance and research when planning trips.
"You have to do a lot of research, more than the general population," Jost explained. "You have to be really cautious when you’re traveling, sometimes even while walking the streets."
Even transgender, nonbinary, and intersex Americans with valid passports updated before the policy change are now apprehensive about traveling. Mikelle Cao, a transgender woman from Las Vegas, said she keeps her updated passport securely at home due to fears of losing it and the potential for negative interactions with law enforcement or security personnel.
"Trans people are just trying to survive, it’s hard enough to add this extra hurdle," Cao stated. "We also want to feel safe when we’re out, when we’re using the restroom, we also want to feel safe when we’re traveling. A big part in safety comes with proving who we are if a police officer asks us for our ID, if a random security guard asks for our ID."
Orr, meanwhile, is grappling with the logistical and emotional fallout of his travel cancellation. He faces challenges navigating travel insurance policies that do not account for government-imposed passport restrictions. Moreover, he is contending with the growing hostility towards transgender individuals in his home state of West Virginia, leading him to consider relocating.
"I’m having to learn how to find trans joy and hope in the smallest moments of my everyday life while also having to hold the grief of navigating this lawsuit," Orr shared. "This is such a hard and scary time, and knowing that I’m in solidarity and that I’m in community with others is really helpful."
The passport crisis underscores the broader challenges faced by the transgender community in the United States, highlighting the need for continued advocacy and legal challenges to ensure equal rights and protections for all individuals, regardless of their gender identity.
