FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5th, 2025
New York, NY – The Remedy Project (TRP), an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of incarcerated individuals, is assisting incarcerated transgender individuals in using the administrative remedy process to challenge the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for egregious violations of their civil rights.
In Section 4 of President Trump’s January 20th executive order titled “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government”, it states that the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security will ensure that “males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers” and that “no Federal funds are expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” Over the past two weeks, The Remedy Project received reports that Bureau of Prisons officials were beginning to act on this executive order.
The Remedy Project is assisting transgender people in Federal Prisons across the country to challenge the illegal, inhumane, and potentially life-threatening change in housing assignments and medical care. Specifically, TRP prepared a BP-8 administrative remedy, the first step in the Federal Bureau of Prisons grievance process, that will be sent to TRP members. The administrative remedy process is the first step in preparing prisoners’ rights litigation that could challenge the executive order.
“This is state-sanctioned sexual violence,” said Anna Sugrue, the co-director of The Remedy Project. “It’s well-documented that transgender women face routine sexual harassment and violence in male facilities. This includes something called V-coding, whereby prison staff “pacify” violent incarcerated men by putting a trans woman in a cell with them to “offer” sexual favors. The BOP’s deliberate indifference to their safety and dignity is an outright violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and many of the BOP’s own policies.”
On February 4th, Federal Judge Royce Lamberth blocked the Trump administration from moving transgender women prisoners into men’s facilities or taking away their medical care. The Remedy Project applauds this decision, but understands that the fight is not over yet. The Justice Department had argued that it was too soon for Lamberth to rule on the matter because the transgender prisoners had not yet been relocated and, if they were, would first need to avail themselves of formal grievance processes within the Bureau of Prisons before seeking relief from the courts. This is where The Remedy Project will continue to provide assistance.
Key Findings in the Grievance Include:
The Remedy Project demands the following immediate corrective actions:
We also propose the following alternative:
Transgender individuals who are not classified as a direct threat to public safety should be placed under home confinement or in halfway houses for the remainder of their sentences. This approach aligns with principles of safety, equity, and human rights while adhering to the BOP's capacity to mitigate risks for vulnerable populations.
This alternative can be modeled after the COVID-era protections implemented under the compassionate release and home confinement policies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the BOP, DOJ, and Congress demonstrated their ability to move quickly and innovatively to accommodate changing conditions for incarcerated individuals and allow many to serve their sentences in safer, non-custodial settings. This precedent shows that the system can adapt and respond effectively to unique challenges.
By adopting this solution, the BOP would not only fulfill its obligations under constitutional law and institutional policy but also take a significant step toward demonstrating that it values humanity over prejudice. This approach offers hope and safety to transgender individuals who have suffered under the current system, paving the way for a more just and compassionate correctional framework.
“The BOP has a legal and moral obligation to protect all people in its custody,” said David Simpson, Co-Director of The Remedy Project. “Instead, it is implementing policies that knowingly place transgender individuals in harm’s way. We will not stop until these violations are addressed and the affected individuals receive the justice they deserve.”
“I call on every American to recognize the humanity of our trans brothers and sisters, to reject the oppressive ideologies that have governed us for too long, and to choose love over division,” added Uncle Selwyn Jones, Remedy Project board member. “We cannot move forward as a nation until we shed the weight of outdated, oppressive mindsets.”
This demand is a call for the recognition of human dignity and a commitment to justice for the most vulnerable among us. The time for change is now. The Remedy Project urges the Department of Justice, members of Congress, and human rights organizations to take immediate steps to investigate these abuses and hold the BOP accountable.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Anna Sugrue
The Remedy Project
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5th, 2025
New York, NY – The Remedy Project (TRP), an advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of incarcerated individuals, is assisting incarcerated transgender individuals in using the administrative remedy process to challenge the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for egregious violations of their civil rights.
In Section 4 of President Trump’s January 20th executive order titled “defending women from gender ideology extremism and restoring biological truth to the federal government”, it states that the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security will ensure that “males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers” and that “no Federal funds are expended for any medical procedure, treatment, or drug for the purpose of conforming an inmate’s appearance to that of the opposite sex.” Over the past two weeks, The Remedy Project received reports that Bureau of Prisons officials were beginning to act on this executive order.
The Remedy Project is assisting transgender people in Federal Prisons across the country to challenge the illegal, inhumane, and potentially life-threatening change in housing assignments and medical care. Specifically, TRP prepared a BP-8 administrative remedy, the first step in the Federal Bureau of Prisons grievance process, that will be sent to TRP members. The administrative remedy process is the first step in preparing prisoners’ rights litigation that could challenge the executive order.
“This is state-sanctioned sexual violence,” said Anna Sugrue, the co-director of The Remedy Project. “It’s well-documented that transgender women face routine sexual harassment and violence in male facilities. This includes something called V-coding, whereby prison staff “pacify” violent incarcerated men by putting a trans woman in a cell with them to “offer” sexual favors. The BOP’s deliberate indifference to their safety and dignity is an outright violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and many of the BOP’s own policies.”
On February 4th, Federal Judge Royce Lamberth blocked the Trump administration from moving transgender women prisoners into men’s facilities or taking away their medical care. The Remedy Project applauds this decision, but understands that the fight is not over yet. The Justice Department had argued that it was too soon for Lamberth to rule on the matter because the transgender prisoners had not yet been relocated and, if they were, would first need to avail themselves of formal grievance processes within the Bureau of Prisons before seeking relief from the courts. This is where The Remedy Project will continue to provide assistance.
Key Findings in the Grievance Include:
The Remedy Project demands the following immediate corrective actions:
We also propose the following alternative:
Transgender individuals who are not classified as a direct threat to public safety should be placed under home confinement or in halfway houses for the remainder of their sentences. This approach aligns with principles of safety, equity, and human rights while adhering to the BOP's capacity to mitigate risks for vulnerable populations.
This alternative can be modeled after the COVID-era protections implemented under the compassionate release and home confinement policies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the BOP, DOJ, and Congress demonstrated their ability to move quickly and innovatively to accommodate changing conditions for incarcerated individuals and allow many to serve their sentences in safer, non-custodial settings. This precedent shows that the system can adapt and respond effectively to unique challenges.
By adopting this solution, the BOP would not only fulfill its obligations under constitutional law and institutional policy but also take a significant step toward demonstrating that it values humanity over prejudice. This approach offers hope and safety to transgender individuals who have suffered under the current system, paving the way for a more just and compassionate correctional framework.
“The BOP has a legal and moral obligation to protect all people in its custody,” said David Simpson, Co-Director of The Remedy Project. “Instead, it is implementing policies that knowingly place transgender individuals in harm’s way. We will not stop until these violations are addressed and the affected individuals receive the justice they deserve.”
“I call on every American to recognize the humanity of our trans brothers and sisters, to reject the oppressive ideologies that have governed us for too long, and to choose love over division,” added Uncle Selwyn Jones, Remedy Project board member. “We cannot move forward as a nation until we shed the weight of outdated, oppressive mindsets.”
This demand is a call for the recognition of human dignity and a commitment to justice for the most vulnerable among us. The time for change is now. The Remedy Project urges the Department of Justice, members of Congress, and human rights organizations to take immediate steps to investigate these abuses and hold the BOP accountable.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Anna Sugrue
The Remedy Project
