Transgender Prisoners Face Uncertainty After Trump’s Executive Order on Housing Policy
Hundreds of transgender prisoners face fear and uncertainty after President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring federal inmates to be housed based on biological sex, not gender identity.
The move, enacted on Trump’s first day in office, has drawn sharp criticism from legal advocates. Attorney Moira Meltzer-Cohen, representing Donna Langan, a transgender woman serving a life sentence, called the policy “incredibly dangerous,” warning it could lead to a “bloodbath” in male prisons.
The order also eliminates federal funding for transition-related healthcare and mandates that facilities like bathrooms and dorms align strictly with biological sex.
Sandra Gant, a federal public defender, said her transgender client was placed in segregation pending transfer to a men’s prison, leaving her “terrified.”
While some, like Rhonda Fleming, a female inmate in Texas, support the decision over safety concerns, the Bureau of Prisons faces pressure as it determines placements for inmates who have undergone gender-affirming surgeries.
The order, part of broader rollbacks of transgender protections, is likely to face legal challenges, with groups like the ACLU preparing to fight back.
