In a major legal flex against an increasingly anti-LGBTQ+ federal tide, a Massachusetts judge just told the U.S. State Department: not on her watch. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick expanded her earlier injunction against the department’s cruel rollback of inclusive passport policies — a move that had threatened to erase the identities of transgender and nonbinary Americans from the very documents meant to validate their existence.
Originally, the injunction only covered six individuals who had sued, but Tuesday’s ruling now protects nearly all transgender and nonbinary people applying for new passports or gender marker changes. Judge Kobick, appointed during the Biden administration, didn’t mince words. The State Department, following Donald Trump’s executive order, was “likely violating the constitutional rights of thousands of Americans,” she wrote. And with that, she granted class-action certification that puts the brakes on this discriminatory nonsense — at least for now.
What Was the Policy, Anyway?
Back in January, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the department would stop processing passport applications that included the “X” gender marker, effectively reverting to a binary-only reality. The move was part of Trump’s broader anti-trans agenda, which insists that people’s genders are fixed at birth — medical consensus and human experience be damned.
But Kobick wasn’t having it. She ruled that the department must return to its pre-Trump procedures — meaning transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people can once again apply for passports that accurately reflect their identities. The decision provides breathing room for thousands who were left in bureaucratic limbo and fearful their ability to work, study, or travel would be compromised simply for being who they are.
Legal Muscle, Community Impact
Let’s be real: this ruling is not just about paperwork. It’s about dignity, safety, and autonomy. For the LGBTQ+ community — especially trans and nonbinary folks — an accurate passport can be a lifeline. It affects everything from airport security checks to border crossings to basic personal validation. As Li Nowlin-Sohl of the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project put it, “This is a historic win in the fight against this administration’s efforts to drive transgender people out of public life.”
Judge Kobick echoed this sentiment in her no-nonsense tone: even if her decision causes discomfort for the Executive Branch, the real constitutional harm is in the policy itself. And she’s right. You can’t claim to champion liberty and equality while stripping people of the documents that affirm their identity.
The Fight’s Not Over
Predictably, the Trump administration has already appealed Kobick’s earlier decision, signaling this fight is far from over. Another lawsuit, Schlacter v. U.S. Department of State, is still pending in Maryland, but plaintiffs in that case were excluded from this ruling’s class certification. For now, the passport door has been flung back open — but expect conservative forces to try slamming it shut again.
Still, this win is worth celebrating. It’s a hard-earned legal blow against an administration obsessed with erasing queer identities. And for trans and nonbinary people — too often treated as legal pawns or policy afterthoughts — it’s a moment of validation in black and white: your existence matters, and the law can recognize that, too.