US judge blocks prison officials from transferring a dozen trans women inmates to men’s facilities

A US federal judge has blocked prison officials from transferring a dozen trans women inmates to men’s facilities, going against an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

Trump had decreed the end of diversity programmes and LGBTQ+ protections following his inauguration in January, notably ordering authorities to ensure that “males are not detained in women’s prisons.”

The trans women inmates filed their lawsuit in a bid to prevent the government from implementing the order because they were concerned they would lose their gender-related medical treatment.

US District Judge Royce Lamberth subsequently issued an injunction to stop the transfer of three trans women inmates and extended it to nine others.

“The same reasoning from the Court’s original TRO Order [ECF No. 23] still applies, with nothing in the record to compel a different outcome,” Lamberth said in the ruling.

He cited the Eighth Amendment, which bars cruel and unusual punishment, in his decision.

“Summarily removing the possibility of housing the plaintiffs in a women’s facility, when that was determined to be the appropriate facility under the existing constitutional and statutory regime, demonstrates a likelihood of success on the merits of the plaintiffs’ Eighth Amendment claim,” he said.

Trump has demonised recognition of gender diversity since his return to power, attacking transgender people — a small minority of the population — and gender-affirming care for minors in both his rhetoric and in executive orders. He has also banned trans people from serving in the military and from sports.