Judge blocks policy to transfer trans women inmates to men's prison

A Washington, D.C. judge has blocked President Trump and his administration from transferring transgender women in custody to men’s prisons.

Emergency protections for several inmates were extended on May 19, when Judge Royce C. Lamberth renewed a preliminary injunction in Doe v. Blanche.  

The case involves several trans women who, in court filings, are claiming to face sexual and physical assault, rape, harassment, and abuse while in the men’s amenities. 

One litigant says they were raped and harassed by other incarcerated men with whom they were housed. Another claims they were sexually assaulted in every men's prison they were placed in. 

Doe v. Blanche challenges a federal directive aimed at forcing transgender women currently housed in women's federal prisons to male facilities.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168 solely recognizing someone's sex as it was assigned at birth and banning trans women from being held in women's facilities. 

According to the attorneys, the plaintiffs are suffering from psychological and physical trauma. 

Lamberth’s ruling comes after the appeals court determined that transgender women must be able to prove individual evidence and specified risks to plaintiffs rather than a general vulnerability or danger to be assessed. 

While the judge’s order instructs the Bureau of Prisons to continue housing the inmates in women's facilities from May 21 to June 8, it is only a temporary solution.  

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