One executive order signed by Donald Trump in recent days will affect some people’s passports.
Trump has been making headlines since his momentous return to the White House earlier this week, signing several executive orders as soon as he stepped into the Oval Office.
His changes will affect U.S. jobs, climate change and immigration, among other issues.
According to BBC News, President Trump signed more than 200 orders on Monday (January 20). An executive order is a written order issued by the president to the federal government and does not require approval by Congress, the news agency explained.
One of the executive orders signed by the 78-year-old is titled “Protecting Women from Gender Ideological Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.”
One of the key changes this bill brings is the idea that there are only two genders: male and female. With this in mind, transgender women will no longer be housed in women’s prisons.
The order would also affect passports for non-binary people.
New order signed by President Trump affects passports for non-binary people (Getty Stock Images)
A 2021 study found that 1.2 million Americans define themselves as non-binary, and those who wanted to list “X” as their gender on their passports could do so under the Biden administration. .
The first X-gender passport was issued in October 2021. This was hailed at the time by diplomat Jessica Stern as a “significant step”.
“The addition of a third gender indicator moves the United States towards ensuring that our government system takes into account the diversity of gender identities, gender expressions and sexual characteristics of Americans,” Sky News reported. .
However, applications for X-Passports are currently frozen by the U.S. Department of State following an executive order recently signed by President Trump.
In an email obtained by the Guardian, Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently told employees that “America’s policy is that an individual’s gender cannot be changed.”
Marco Rubio orders a moratorium on passport applications with the “X” gender mark (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
He also said that “gender, not gender, should be used” on official documents such as passports and birth reports from consuls abroad.
Officials were also ordered to “suspend applications requesting a gender marker of X” and “suspend applications where the applicant seeks to change their gender marker.”
The new policy is believed to affect current and future passport applications.
As it stands, already issued passports with the X gender mark are still valid, but this could cause problems for those who need to renew their travel documents in the near future.
If you are affected by any of these issues and would like to talk to someone confidentially, please contact the National LGBT Hotline at 888-843-4564. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday, 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM ET and Saturday, 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM ET.
