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The Trump administration is moving to strip away federal housing protections for transgender people, proposing a rule that would allow federally funded shelters and housing programs to decide placement based on sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced the proposal on Friday, saying it would revise the Equal Access Rule to align with President Donald Trump’s executive order recognizing only male and female sexes assigned at birth. If finalized, the rule would affect emergency shelters, domestic violence shelters, homeless housing programs, and other federally funded facilities with shared sleeping quarters or bathrooms.
In practice, it could mean a transgender woman fleeing abuse is turned away from a women’s shelter. It could also mean a cisgender woman who does not conform to traditional expectations of femininity is asked to prove she belongs there.
Related: New HUD Rule Strengthens Protections for Trans People in Shelters
HUD Secretary Scott Turner said the proposal would restore “biological truth” and ensure shelters can serve women “as women.”
For transgender Americans already facing shrinking access to health care, education, and public life, advocates say housing is now the next front. Advocates say the rule would force shelters to police bodies and put vulnerable people at greater risk of homelessness.
Advocates for Trans Equality called the proposal “a dangerous rollback” of longstanding protections. Senior Counsel Kelly Parry-Johnson said the revised rule would “open the door to exclusion, profiling, and harm” by allowing shelters to require “intrusive or degrading verification” of a person’s sex.
The proposal would reverse key parts of the Obama administration’s 2016 Equal Access Rule, which barred HUD-funded housing programs from denying shelter based on gender identity. Under the new version, providers of single-sex facilities could require what HUD calls “reasonable assurances and evidence” to verify a person’s sex before placement.
Related: HUD Seeks to Allow Discrimination Against Homeless Trans People
Related: HUD Affirms LGBTQ-Inclusive Policy, Withdraws Anti-Trans Proposal
HUD does not clearly define what counts as proof, raising concerns that shelters could demand identification documents or medical records, or rely on staff discretion to determine who looks feminine enough to enter. For people arriving at a domestic violence shelter in crisis, those decisions can determine whether they get a bed or are sent back into danger.
The public comment period, which began on Tuesday, remains open through June 29. People can submit feedback through the Federal Register page for the proposed rule by clicking “Submit a Formal Comment” and filing remarks through Regulations.gov.
