U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued policy updates effective immediately to prevent trans women athletes abroad from entering the country to compete in sports competitions. The agency said the updates are in accordance with an executive order against trans athletes that directed the Department of Homeland Security to bar entry to trans women from other countries who want to play sports in the United States. Related American Ninja & runner explain how being trans helps them undercut their competitors machismo Clayton Jay Reeves and Charlie Hoskins both tackle toxic masculinity in the sports arena while redefining their concepts of manhood. The policy change is especially significant since the United States is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The press release, issued on August 4, consistently misidentifies trans women as men. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today USCIS will affirmatively protect all-female athletic opportunities by granting certain athlete-related petitions and applications, that had previously been abused and offered to men, only to women, ensuring that male aliens seeking immigration benefits arent coming to the U.S. to participate in womens sports, it said, explaining the new eligibility policies for extraordinary ability visas. This policy update clarifies that USCIS considers the fact that a male athlete has been competing against women as a negative factor in determining whether the alien is among the small percentage at the very top of the field, the release continued, saying the agency does not consider a male athlete who has gained acclaim in mens sports and seeks to compete in womens sports in the United States to be seeking to continue work in his area of extraordinary ability. Male athletes seeking to enter the country to compete in womens sports do not substantially benefit the United States, the agency claimed, and it is not in the national interest to the United States to waive the job offer and, thus, the labor certification requirement for male athletes whose proposed endeavor is to compete in womens sports.A statement from USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser further emphasized the administrations hostility to trans athletes and its refusal to address them by their actual genders.Men do not belong in womens sports, Tragesser said. USCIS is closing the loophole for foreign male athletes whose only chance at winning elite sports is to change their gender identity and leverage their biological advantages against women. Its a matter of safety, fairness, respect, and truth that only female athletes receive a visa to come to the U.S. to participate in womens sports. He then claimed the administration is standing up for the silent majority whove long been victims of leftist policies that defy common sense.The administration has been targeting trans folks abroad as part of its overall crackdown on trans participation in sports. In February, the State Department told U.S. immigration officials around the world to deny visas to transgender athletes attempting to enter the U.S. and to permanently ban any athletes who misrepresent their birth sex on visa applications. The February 24 message, authored by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, directs U.S. consulates and immigration offices worldwide to ban trans visa applicants under a section of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act that issues a permanent fraud bar for people who lie on their visa applications. In addition to targeting trans athletes abroad, the executive order directs the Department of Justice to prosecute schools that allow trans female athletes in female sports programs. It also threatens to prevent cisgender U.S. athletes from competing in international sports competitions that allow international trans athletes to compete alongside cis athletes.Many educational institutions and athletic associations have allowed men to compete in womens sports,the order states, misgendering trans female athletes.This is demeaning, unfair, and dangerous to women and girls, and denies women and girls the equal opportunity to participate and excel in competitive sports. Therefore, it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy, the order continues. It shall also be the policy of the United States to oppose male competitive participation in womens sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity, and truth.Trans athletes have arguedthat anti-trans politicians who talk about protecting womens sports never fight to get increased funding or discourage the sexist discrimination and sexual abuse that keep many female athletes from competing in the first place.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.