Monroe County Clerk Jamie Romeo along with some other area officials and advocates for the LGBTQIA+ community, gathered at the county office building on Wednesday to talk about changes in passports.
The officials note that recently, the Trump Administration directed the U.S. State Department to suspend all passport applications seeking to change a sex marker and all applications requesting an “X” sex marker.
Romeo said that reportedly, a memo from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said that legal justification for the changes derives from President Trump’s executive order that the federal government will only recognize two genders, male and female.
Romeo, a Democrat, said that locations such as the county clerk’s office and some other sites will offer a “safe space” to provide information and help local residents figure out next steps.
“We are the safe spaces for you,” said Romeo, we are the ones that can help you figure this out. We're not going to have all the answers, because this is an evolving situation. We don't know all of the potential impacts of this executive order and these decisions from the new Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, about what they're going to do, particularly if you have a previously issued X marker passport.”
Luca Jutsum, a member of the Board of Directors at the Rochester Rainbow Union, said at a news conference Wednesday that this is a crucial issue in the trans community, as they face “uncertainties, doubt, fear, scrutiny and political ideologies that seek to turn us into demonized political ideas instead of human beings."
Romeo hopes there is further clarification from the White House soon regarding passports, because May 7 is the REAL ID deadline and she noted that if travelers do not have a REAL ID or a passport after that time, they cannot board a domestic flight.
