• A federal judge has expanded a ruling to allow all transgender Americans to select gender markers on passports.
• The ruling blocks a previous executive order limiting gender options to male or female.
• Transgender individuals can now apply for passports reflecting their gender identity, including an "X" option.

A federal judge in Massachusetts has expanded a ruling blocking the Trump administration's passport policy that restricted gender designations to male and female only. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick ruled that transgender and non-binary individuals seeking to renew, apply, or change their name on their passports may now choose the gender that aligns with their identity, including selecting "X" as a designation. Initially, the April ruling applied only to six plaintiffs, but Kobick has now extended this to a broader group, citing the need for all affected individuals to have equal access to accurate identification, according to SFGate, CBS News, and Le Monde.

The executive order that prompted this legal action was issued by Trump on Inauguration Day, asserting only two recognized gender categories, thus ending prior measures that allowed for a non-binary designation on passports. Kobick criticized the order, emphasizing that it fails to provide justification for discriminating against transgender individuals and acknowledged the “immediate and profound negative impact” this policy has had on their ability to travel for personal and professional reasons, according to India Times and India Times.