A new U.S. State Department passport policy has created a patchwork of scenarios for transgender, nonbinary and intersex people across the country, including in New Mexico.
National LGBTQ advocacy organization Lambda Legal this week held a teach-in for people impacted by the policy.
"This all began with an executive order which attempts, although does not succeed, in denying the existence of trans, nonbinary, intersex and gender nonconforming people,” said Carl Charles, the organization’s senior attorney.
President Trump’s order requires that federally-issued IDs, “including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards,” reflect a person’s sex as male or female “at conception.” Though, medical experts have pointed out that, since sex differences are not present at conception, and intersex people can display both male and female characteristics, the policy is likely instead relying on the sex assigned to a person at birth.
The State Department initially stopped processing the applications of people changing the gender on their passports and those with X gender markers.
Charles said the agency has now begun processing those under its new policy and the applicants, “Are likely to start receiving passports with inaccurate gender markers.”
Any previously-issued passports remain valid until they expire, including those with X gender markers.
Since the State Department is using supporting documents and records of previous passports to determine an applicant’s sex assigned at birth, Charles said it is possible that first-time applicants could receive a passport with the right gender marker on it. However, that could depend on whether their other identity documents have been updated.
For people with expired or soon-to-expire passports, Charles recommended weighing the personal importance of having an accurate gender marker on it before applying.
“Maybe, for you, it’s more important that you be able to travel, and you’ll deal with any perceived or potential difficulties of a mismatched gender marker,” he said.
The ACLU earlier this month sued the federal government over the policy. It requested a permanent injunction, which would restore the Biden-era policy while the case proceeds. Charles said, if granted — and not just for the plaintiffs — that may be the best time to renew.
“Because there may be a chance, there may be a window, that they can get a document with a correct gender marker,” he said.
New Mexico allows residents to update their gender marker, including changing it to X, on driver’s licenses and birth certificates. Trump’s executive order does not change that state policy.
The State Department is accepting public comment on these changes to its passport application, and those to renew or update the document, through mid-March.
