Supreme Court Lets Sex-at-Birth Passport Rule Take Effect During Appeal

Overview

• In an emergency order issued November 6, the Court stayed a lower-court injunction and allowed the Trump administration’s passport policy to proceed while litigation continues.
• The per curiam ruling said listing sex at birth is comparable to listing country of birth and does not, on this record, reflect animus under rational-basis review.
• Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing that an executive order lacks the force of a statute and that blocking it does not inflict the sovereign injury used to justify stays.
• The plaintiffs say they want passports that let them travel without fear of misidentification, harassment, or violence.
• Legal commentary split, with Reason.com criticizing the opinion’s reliance on Trump v. Hawaii and CounterPunch questioning the legitimacy of passport controls themselves.