On June 17, 2025, a federal judge certified two classes in a case challenging President Trump’s executive order regarding sex designations on passports.
The judge’s order grants injunctive relief to all those seeking a passport whose gender identity differs from the sex assigned to them at birth.
Orr v. Trump (D. Mass. June 17, 2025) concerns President Trump’s Executive Order 14168, which states that “[i]t is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” which “are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.” The Executive Order directed the Secretary of State to require that passports “accurately reflect the holder’s sex.” Subsequently, the State Department added a requirement that passport sex markers reflect an applicant’s sex assigned at birth and removed the option for non-binary or gender non-conforming Americans to obtain a passport with an “X” sex marker.
Six transgender or non-binary Americans filed a class action complaint in February 2025 alleging equal protection, Fifth Amendment, First Amendment, and Administrative Procedure Act violations. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts awarded preliminary injunctive relief to the six plaintiffs, preventing the State Department from enforcing the policy against them.
On June 17, 2025, the court certified the following classes in the suit: a class of all people (1) whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to them under the Passport Policy and/or who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and (2) who have applied, or who, but for the Passport Policy, would apply, for a U.S. passport issued with an “M” or “F” sex designation that is different from the sex assigned to that individual under the Passport Policy; and a class of all people whose gender identity is different from the sex assigned to them under the Passport Policy and who have applied, or who, but for the Passport Policy, would apply, for a U.S. passport with an “X” designation.
Key Takeaways
While the future of the executive order – and transgender Americans’ ability to obtain passports reflecting their gender identity – is uncertain, the judge’s expanded injunctive relief in Orr v. Trump prevents the State Department from enforcing the executive order against those seeking a passport sex designation that reflects their gender identity. This includes anyone seeking a new passport, a renewed passport, or a name change on their current passport. We will continue to monitor this case and other related litigation and will provide updates as they become available.
