logo
#

Latest news with #passportpolicy

Chaos erupts after Qantas passengers were left stranded in a Thai airport
Chaos erupts after Qantas passengers were left stranded in a Thai airport

Daily Mail​

time23-07-2025

  • Daily Mail​

Chaos erupts after Qantas passengers were left stranded in a Thai airport

Qantas passengers were forced to choose between handing over their passports or sleeping at a Thai airport after their flight was cancelled at the eleventh hour. The service from Bangkok International Airport to Sydney was initially delayed for six hours before it was eventually cancelled late on Monday night. Several passengers shared footage from inside the terminal showing a cardboard box full of Australian passports on the ground. Airport staff appeared to be filling out documentation, also on the ground, as dozens of confused passengers crowded around them. Travellers were also asked to hand over their passports before they left the airport and travelled to hotel accommodation. A Qantas spokeswoman said airlines are required to hold passengers' passports during significant delays in line with Bangkok Immigration regulations. It's understood travellers were asked to surrender their passports to officials in order to exit the airport and transfer to their accommodation. Asking passengers to hand over their passports is not a Qantas policy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ramya | American Expat | Life in AUS 🐳 (@ramyatheaussie) Dozens of viewers expressed their shock at the passport policy. 'Is this normal to take away your passports? Never heard of anything like that! What was their reasoning??!' one wrote. 'They would have to cut my arm to take my passport,' another said. 'I wouldn't have let them take my passport, that's not standard practice for flight cancellations,' a third agreed. A Qantas spokeswoman apologised to customers for the delay. 'We sincerely apologise to customers for the disruption and understand the inconvenience this would have caused to their travel plans,' she said. 'Our teams worked hard to get passengers on their way as quickly as possible and all passengers have now arrived in Sydney.'

Judge Tells Rubio U.S. Passports Must Allow Gender-Neutral 'X' Option
Judge Tells Rubio U.S. Passports Must Allow Gender-Neutral 'X' Option

Forbes

time18-06-2025

  • Politics
  • Forbes

Judge Tells Rubio U.S. Passports Must Allow Gender-Neutral 'X' Option

A federal judge has ordered the State Department to revert to the policy in place before President Trump retook office, allowing U.S. citizens to self-select a gender designation that includes 'X'—instead of either male or female—on their passport applications. U.S. passport applications included "X" as an option from April 2022 until President Trump banned it ... More through executive order on the first day of his second term. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston blocked the Trump administration from limiting passport sex markers to 'male' and 'female,' saying the State Department's policy 'likely violates the constitutional rights of thousands of Americans.' Since President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January declaring the government would only recognize 'two sexes, male and female,' the U.S. State Department stopped issuing U.S. passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBAs) with an X marker and has only issued passports with markers that 'match the customer's biological sex at birth.' Trump's executive order reversed a decision taken by the Biden administration in April 2022 to make an "X gender" marker available for U.S. passports.U.S. passports issued with the X marker between 2022 and 2025 remain valid until their expiration date, according to the State Department website. The ruling broadens a previous injunction from Kobick that applied to six people, and now includes all transgender or non-binary people who don't have a valid passport, those whose passport is expiring within one year, and those who need to reapply for a passport because theirs was lost or stolen or because they need to change their name or sex designation. The State Department did not respond to questions regarding a timetable for when U.S. passport applications would again include X as an option. The U.S. issued its first passport with an X gender marker in October 2021 to a military veteran who is intersex, joining more than 10 countries that offered a third gender option on passports. Between April 2022 and January 2025, thousands of U.S. passports were issued with the X sex marker—and those remained valid even after Trump issued the executive order. In addition, 22 states and the District of Columbia include the X marker as an option for residents applying for driver's licenses. Of the remaining 28 states, there are varying degrees of difficulty built into the process of changing the gender marker on a driver's license. For example, 10 states require proof of surgery, court order or amended birth certificate. Only four states—Florida, Kansas, Tennessee and Texas—do not offer any process for updating the gender marker on driver's licenses, according to data from the Movement Advancement Project. In addition, 17 U.S. states allow individuals to update the gender marker on birth certificates, indicating a non-binary or gender-neutral option. Many countries include the gender-neutral marker as an option on passports. The International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets the standards for machine-readable passports, provides three options: female, male or X (for unspecified). European countries that offer all three include Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Malta and The Netherlands. In North America, Canada and Mexico offer option X to passport holders. Other countries around the world that provide the gender-neutral sex marker include Argentina, Australia, Colombia, India, Nepal, New Zealand and Pakistan. Earlier this year, several European countries and Canada alerted their citizens about tightened restrictions for travelers entering the United States, warning that travelers who have changed sex or identified themselves as non-binary with an X on their passports could face detention or expulsion under the White House's policy of recognizing only two sexes. 1.3 million. That's how many adults in the U.S. identify as transgender or gender nonconforming, according to a brief published in January from the Williams Institute, a think tank at UCLA Law School that researches sexual orientation and gender identity. Judge Kobick's ruling goes into effect 'immediately,' but it's unclear how quickly the State Department will comply. The Trump administration will likely appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals and the case may ultimately be decided by the United States Supreme Court. 'We encourage all class members impacted by this policy to take advantage of this injunctive relief and we will do everything we can to block this policy permanently,' Li Nowlin-Sohl, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement. Trans Actress Hunter Schafer Says Her Passport Now Lists Her Sex As Male After Trump Executive Order (Forbes)

Judge blocks Trump administration passport policy targeting transgender people
Judge blocks Trump administration passport policy targeting transgender people

CBS News

time17-06-2025

  • Politics
  • CBS News

Judge blocks Trump administration passport policy targeting transgender people

A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked the State Department from enforcing an executive order that required Americans to select their gender assigned at birth on new passports. U.S. District Judge Julia Kobick ruled Tuesday that any individual who needs to renew their passport because it expires within one year, apply for a new passport or change their name or sex designation may choose the gender that they identify with. Applicants can also still select "X" on a passport application form. Kobick's ruling expanded an earlier decision in April that only applied to six of the original plaintiffs. The executive order, issued by Mr. Trump on Inauguration Day, directed the State Department to no longer issue U.S. passports with anything other than a male or female designation. It reversed a previous policy under the Biden administration that allowed for Americans to self-select their gender on their passport application, and included an "X" for those who do not identify as either male or female. If passports with the "X" marker expired and were renewed under the new policy, those people who had previously selected it would be forced to choose male or female. In February, a group of transgender and nonbinary plaintiffs backed by the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Trump administration over the policy, claiming that the executive order was discriminatory against them. In April, Kobick ruled that the Trump administration failed to provide a rationale for the new passport policy "related to an important governmental interest" and found that the policy discriminated against transgender Americans. "Viewed as a whole, the language of the Executive Order is candid in its rejection of the identity of an entire group—transgender Americans—who have always existed and have long been recognized in, among other fields, law and the medical profession," Kobick wrote in her April decision. The judge reaffirmed Tuesday that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their case. "This decision acknowledges the immediate and profound negative impact that the Trump administration's passport policy has on the ability of people across the country to travel for work, school, and family," said Jessie Rossman, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. "The Trump administration's passport policy attacks the foundations of the right to privacy and the freedom for all people to live their lives safely and with dignity. We will continue to fight to stop this unlawful policy once and for all." The Justice Department appealed Kobick's April ruling last week. A State Department spokesperson told CBS News, "As a general matter, we do not comment on pending or ongoing litigation." CBS News has reached out to the White House for comment. contributed to this report.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store