After President Trump returned to office, Lisa Suhay urgently took her transgender daughter, Mellow, to get a passport due to Trump’s narrow definition of gender in a recent executive order. This order denies the existence of transgender and nonbinary people and restricts their ability to update their passports. Mellow, and others like her, are facing confusion and emotional distress over these changes.
The State Department quickly ceased issuing passports with an “X” gender marker, upsetting many nonbinary individuals. Mellow reluctantly selected “male” on her application to comply with the new policy, even though it contradicted her identity. The abruptness of the policy change has left many in a state of uncertainty, as applications are on hold and new guidelines omit references to transgender and intersex people.
Trump’s administration has targeted transgender individuals in various ways, including prison placement, military service, and healthcare access. The new passport policy, which requires legal action to challenge, discriminates against transgender individuals and is seen as an attempt to erase their identities.
Families like Elise Flatland’s in Kansas are waiting anxiously for passport approvals for their transgender children. For some, these passports are essential for accessing gender-affirming care both in the U.S. and abroad. The sudden policy change has impacted advocates like Ash Lazarus Orr and Zaya Perysian, who fear facing travel disruptions and identity erasure due to the lack of passport updates.
Overall, the policy change has ignited a wave of fear and uncertainty among transgender individuals and their families, prompting legal challenges and advocacy efforts to protect their rights and identities.
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