Following a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump on his first day in office, the U.S. State Department has frozen all applications for passports with the gender “X” symbol, as well as changes to gender identity on existing passports.
In an internal cable obtained by the Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday directed department officials to implement strict new guidelines regarding official documents.
“U.S. policy is that an individual’s gender cannot be changed,” the email said.
Mr. Rubio’s directive states that “gender, not sex, must be used” on official documents such as passports and birth reports from consuls abroad.
On Thursday, State Department officials were ordered to “suspend applications requesting a gender marker of Ta. This policy affects current and future passport applications.
The executive order, titled “Protecting Women from Gender Ideological Extremism and Restore Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” states that government-issued identification cards “must identify individuals as either male or female.” Requires the use of only “immutable biological classifications”.
In April 2022, the State Department will begin issuing passports with the nonbinary third gender identifier “X.” Passports with the “X” identification will remain valid, but there will be issues with renewals, the White House told news site Notus. “Information regarding existing passports that include the X gender marker will be provided through a different route,” Rubio’s email said.
It is unclear how many passports currently use the “X” option.
