Trump administration rolls back Obama-era rules that protect transgender prisoners

Washington, D.C. - The Trump administration on Friday rolled back Obama-era rules that allowed transgender inmates to use facilities, including bathrooms and Cell Blocks, that match their gender identity.

 

"The Obama Administration put this guidance into place after an extensive review to develop workable and reasonable procedures that would protect some of the most vulnerable people in our prison system," HRC Government Affairs Director David Stacy said in a statement. "The decision to disregard a transgender person's gender identity is harmful and disrespectful. This unconscionable decision ignores medical expertise and defies common sense. Transgender people under the control of the Bureau of Prisons will face greater risk of violence and discrimination."

Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), also criticized the move.

"The extreme rates of physical and sexual violence faced by transgender people in our nation's prisons is a stain on the entire criminal justice system," said Keisling. "Instead of leaving the existing policy alone, the administration is clearly prepared to encourage federal prisons to violate federal law and advance its own inhumane agenda."