Key facts
- A federal judge questioned the Trump administration's transfer of transgender inmates to a segregated prison unit.
- The judge suggested the transfers violate a preliminary injunction he issued last month.
- Inmates' attorneys argued the transfers violate constitutional rights and exacerbate gender dysphoria.
- Government attorneys contended the transfers do not violate the injunction and that administrative remedies should be pursued first.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth expressed concern on Wednesday that the Trump administration may be violating his previous court order by transferring incarcerated transgender women to a segregated prison unit. The inmates' attorneys urged the judge to enforce the order, arguing that the transfers are a "backdoor attempt to implement the executive order" and violate their constitutional rights against cruel and unusual punishment. The segregated unit in Fort Worth, Texas, currently houses ten transgender women, eight of whom are plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that directs the Bureau of Prisons to house inmates based on biological sex and halt gender-affirming care.