In a significant policy shift, the U.S. State Department has directed immigration officials worldwide to deny visas to transgender athletes seeking to enter the United States for competitions. The directive, issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also imposes a permanent ban on athletes who “misrepresent” their birth sex on visa applications. The policy leverages a section of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, traditionally used to bar individuals guilty of fraud, to enforce these restrictions.
Tied to Trump’s Executive Order
This move follows President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports”, signed on February 5, 2025. The order seeks to prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in female sports across all educational levels and threatens to revoke federal funding from schools and universities that allow trans athletes to compete on women’s teams, citing violations of Title IX.
The executive order has already faced legal challenges, with at least one lawsuit filed by transgender high school students in New Hampshire, arguing that the policy discriminates against transgender individuals in violation of the Constitution and Title IX.
Impact on International Sporting Events
The State Department’s directive further intensifies the administration’s stance by targeting international athletes, a move that could significantly impact major sporting events, including the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) currently allows transgender athletes to compete if they meet specific criteria, but this new U.S. policy could bar qualified athletes from entering the country.
The order also tasks Rubio with pressuring the IOC into banning transgender athletes from future Olympic Games. Additionally, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been directed to deny visas to what the administration refers to as “men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes.”
This policy extends beyond the Olympics and will impact other international sports leagues and tournaments held in the U.S., including the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
ACLU Condemns the Ban
Critics have denounced these measures as discriminatory and dangerous. Sarah Mehta, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), called the visa ban “alarming”, noting that the law used to justify it was previously applied on a case-by-case basis to deny entry to individuals committing fraud—not to target transgender individuals.
“To single out and label transgender individuals this way as a disfavored group is really alarming,” Mehta said.
Rubio’s order instructs U.S. consulates and visa offices worldwide to scrutinize birth certificates that conflict with other official identity documents. Any suspected cases are to be marked with ‘SWS25’, allowing the State Department to track and enforce the policy globally.
With growing legal opposition and backlash from human rights organizations, this policy is shaping up to be one of the most controversial and consequential in the ongoing debate over transgender participation in sports.
