Judge blocks Trump-ordered transfer of transgender women inmates to male prisons

[Jessica_Rose]

Judge blocks Trump-ordered transfer of transgender women inmates to male prisons

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-blocks-trump-ordered-transfer-of-transgender-women-inmates-to-male-prisons/ar-AA1zHNjB?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=d44fe2638ade420bbde2f3c5efd7aa88&ei=114

Story by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY (24 Feb 2025)

WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Monday blocked the Justice Department from transferring 12 transgender female inmates to male prisons, in a setback for President Donald Trump's executive orders denying recognition of transgender people.

The inmates housed at Bureau of Prisons facilities filed their lawsuit Jan. 30 because of concerns they would lose access to medical treatment if transferred to prisons that didn't recognize their gender identities. The inmates argued they would be at substantial risk of serious harm if transferred, a violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had issued a temporary restraining order Feb. 18 against transferring the inmates. Lamberth, an appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, extended the block with a preliminary injunction by ruling the inmates were likely to win their case under the Eighth Amendment.

Lamberth said he was unpersuaded the inmates would be safer at a low-security men's prison than in their current facilities, as the government proposed. He wrote that "numerous government reports and regulations recognizing that transgender persons are at a significantly elevated risk of physical and sexual violence relative to other inmates when housed in a facility corresponding to their biological sex."