Trump Orders Transfer of Transgender Inmates to Men’s Prisons

In a sweeping executive order issued on his first day back in office, U.S. President Donald Trump has directed federal prisons to transfer transgender women to men’s facilities and halt medical treatments related to gender transition. The policy also applies to immigration detainees, marking one of the most concrete and immediate actions under the order, which seeks to define gender strictly based on sex assigned at birth.

Trump had previously imposed some restrictions on housing and healthcare for transgender prisoners during his first term, but the latest directive goes further. The Women’s Liberation Front, a group advocating for single-sex prisons, welcomed the decision, calling it “a major victory.” The organization has been challenging a California law allowing prisoners to be housed according to their gender identity, arguing that it infringes on the constitutional rights of non-transgender female inmates.

Trump’s order echoed these concerns, stating that “efforts to eradicate the biological reality of sex fundamentally attack women by depriving them of their dignity, safety, and well-being.” However, advocates for transgender rights condemned the move, warning of serious risks to inmate safety. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, predicted that the policy would lead to increased violence. “There will be rapes and physical assaults because of this policy,” Minter said, emphasizing that it also removes discretion from prison officials who currently assess placements based on safety and security considerations.

Legal experts expect challenges to the policy, citing past federal court rulings that require prison systems to protect vulnerable inmates and provide necessary medical care. In 2022, a federal judge in Illinois ruled that denying gender-transition surgery to a transgender inmate likely violated the Eighth Amendment’s protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Data from the federal prison system shows that transgender prisoners are ten times more likely to report being sexually victimized than other inmates, raising further concerns about the impact of Trump’s order.