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The United States Customs and Border Protection has introduced and implemented a rule that will require all airlines to disregard the “X” sex markers on passports, raising questions about what it means for individuals who have those markers on their passports. Why It Matters The “X” marker became available to U.S. passport holders in 2022, in an effort to “serve all U.S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity,” per a press release at the time. A partially completed passport application, with an X gender marker, is seen on a computer monitor in Alexandria, Virginia, on April 11, 2022. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) This change, under the Biden administration, came after the announcement that U.S. passport applicants could self-select their gender and did not need to submit medical documentation, regardless of whether their selected gender differed from other documents. Since the reelection of President Donald Trump, his administration has taken multiple steps to unravel protections for transgender individuals. After his inauguration on January 20, Trump issued an executive order saying it is “the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female” and targeted gender-affirming care for transgender youths, among other measures. What To Know The rule to ignore X markers comes in “compliance,” with an Executive Order issued by the president in January, titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” (EO), according to a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This release reads in part, “If the travel document presented by a traveler for an international flight to or from the United States has a sex indicator other than “M” or “F” or does not otherwise indicate the sex of the traveler, the carrier or the traveler should select either “M” or “F”.” What this will mean in practice is that airlines will disregard “X,” sex makers, and input a marker of either “F” or “M.” Passports with “X” markers should still be considered valid travel documents. The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts issued an order in June which ensured that these travel documents would remain valid, following an attempt by the Trump administration to ban them, under the “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” order. What People Are Saying @KiranKS, an X, in a post on X: “U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented a rule that will require airlines to disregard “X” sex markers on passports and input an “M” or “F” marker instead. Third gender people are in panic as to how this would affect their international flights.” @PopCrave, in a post on X from June of this year viewed over 200,000 times: “A federal judge has blocked the Donald Trump administration from utilizing passport sex markers for transgender and nonbinary individuals. These individuals can now request a male, female, or “X” identification marker for their passports.” What’s Next Though the courts have ultimately prevented an outright ban of the third gender marker, this ruling could complicate how travel, and life more broadly, looks for trans and non—binary individuals in the U.S. Do you have an X marker on your passport? Are you concerned by these changes and what they might mean for you? Get in touch by e-mailing m.mcfall@newsweek.com.
