TL;DR
- Trump DOJ accused of stripping protections for transgender prisoners
- Lawsuit challenges unlawful actions against PREA regulations
- Transgender individuals face high rates of sexual violence in prisons
- Legal director emphasizes importance of established protections
- Case seeks to restore nationwide enforcement of PREA regulations.
In a move that has sent shockwaves through the LGBTQ community, the Trump administration is being accused of unlawfully dismantling protections meant to shield transgender prisoners from sexual violence. The National Center for LGBTQ Rights has filed a bombshell lawsuit against the Justice Department, claiming that a December 2025 memo directed prisons to ignore crucial standards laid out in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) that specifically protect transgender individuals behind bars.
The case, known as Poe v. U.S. Department of Justice, was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of Paulina Poe, a transgender woman currently incarcerated in a men’s prison. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration is attempting to erase federal recognition of transgender individuals in the prison system by informally suspending safety regulations that have been in place for years.
“One thing we really haven’t conveyed, but that is important, is how longstanding and well-established these protections are for incarcerated transgender people,” said Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. Minter pointed to the historic 1994 Supreme Court case Farmer v. Brennan, which highlighted the vulnerability of transgender individuals in prison settings, stating that they are ten times more likely to experience sexual violence.
The PREA regulations, finalized in 2012, specifically recognized transgender individuals as a vulnerable population, requiring prisons to conduct individualized safety assessments rather than making blanket housing assignments based on anatomy or sex assigned at birth. The regulations also mandated that transgender individuals have a say in their housing decisions and provided opportunities for separate shower access, among other protections.
However, the Trump administration’s memo instructed prisons to disregard these protections, effectively putting transgender prisoners at greater risk of violence. “Trump ordered DOJ to go through the official process of amending those regulations to wipe out any mention of transgender people and to wipe out any protection for transgender people,” Minter explained. “But DOJ did not do that.” Instead, the memo told federal prisons to act as though these protections didn’t exist.
The lawsuit is based on the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies create or amend regulations. The plaintiffs argue that the executive branch cannot simply ignore existing federal rules because a president disagrees with them politically.
This legal battle comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to erase federal recognition of transgender individuals across various sectors, including health care, education, and now, prisons. The complaint cites Executive Order 14168, which directed federal agencies to recognize only sex assigned at birth, further endangering transgender individuals in the corrections system.
While federal courts have partially blocked some of the administration’s prison policies, this new lawsuit aims to restore nationwide enforcement of the PREA regulations. “Most transgender women are not in women’s facilities, and the PREA protections are so important for them because they are just so vulnerable,” Minter stated. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the DOJ memorandum and ensure that the protections intended for transgender prisoners are reinstated.
As this case unfolds, it shines a light on the ongoing struggles faced by transgender individuals in the prison system and the critical need for protections that have been established to safeguard their rights and safety. The stakes could not be higher, and the outcome of this lawsuit could set a precedent for the future of transgender rights within the U.S. prison system.