Hundreds of transgender federal prisoners are set to be transferred to men’s lockups, as per a day-one executive order from President Donald Trump.
Some lawyers are now scrambling to fight the order, warning that the prisoners will have ‘a target on their backs’ as they move in with hardened male inmates.
Legal Concerns and Safety Risks
Attorney Moira Meltzer-Cohen, who represents Donna Langan, a transgender woman serving a life sentence for bank robbery, is unhappy about the US president’s order.
The executive order declared that the government will only recognize two sexes – male and female – meaning all ‘intimate spaces designated for women, girls, or females’ will be determined by sex rather than gender identity.
Public Defenders and Legal Challenges
An email from a federal public defender in Massachusetts, viewed by DailyMail.com, revealed that a transgender woman imprisoned in Minnesota was among those rounded up and is ‘terrified’ of being sent to a men’s prison.
Public defender Sandra Gant reported that her office was notified of the policy change by the federal Bureau of Prisons and urged other public defenders to share information for a legal fight.
Gant’s client, who had been in a women’s facility throughout her pretrial detention and BOP custody, was segregated and told she would be transferred to a men’s prison.
Policy Shifts and Implications
President Trump signed orders on Monday rolling back protections for transgender people, ruling that the two ‘immutable sexes’ are ‘not changeable’ and that federal prisons, along with shelters for migrants and rape victims, are to be segregated by sex.
Federal funding for ‘transition services’ will also be discontinued.
The president demanded officials use the term ‘sex’ rather than ‘gender,’ urging federal agencies to end funding for ‘gender ideology’ and protect against ‘gender extremism,’ marking significant policy shifts from the Biden and Obama administrations.
President Trump Executive Order
This order mandates that all federal agencies and employees use the term “sex” instead of “gender” in policies and documents, and that government-issued identification documents accurately reflect the holder’s sex.
The order has significant implications for transgender and nonbinary individuals, as it ends federal funding for gender-transition services and requires that prisons and shelters be segregated by sex