Judge blocks Trump-ordered transfer of 12 trans women to male jails

Transgender women inmates filed their lawsuit in a bid to prevent government from implementing order

By AFP
February 26, 2025
A protest in front of the US embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on 29 January 2025. —Reuters
A protest in front of the US embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on 29 January 2025. —Reuters

WASHINGTON: A US federal judge has blocked prison officials from transferring a dozen transgender 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 transgender 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 issued an injunction this month to stop the transfer of three transgender women inmates and extended it to nine others on Monday.