Indian American DOJ Official Harmeet Dhillon Opens Federal Probe Into California Women's Prisons Over Transgender Housing Policy

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet K. Dhillon has formally notified California Governor Gavin Newsom that the US Department of Justice has launched a federal investigation into two California women's prisons over the state's practice of housing transgender inmates in female facilities, in what the Trump administration is calling a constitutional civil rights matter.

The investigation targets the California Institution for Women in San Bernardino County and the Central California Women's Facility in Madera County. Federal investigators will examine whether California's practice constitutes a pattern of unconstitutional violations against female inmates, conducting the probe under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.

Dhillon was direct in her statement: "Under my leadership, the Civil Rights Division will not allow women incarcerated in jails or prisons to be subject to unconstitutional risks of harm from male inmates." Attorney General Pamela Bondi added that the Trump administration "will not stand by if governors are facilitating the abuse of biological women under the guise of inclusion."

California's 2021 Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act, which allows transgender inmates to request placement in facilities matching their gender identity, sits at the centre of the federal scrutiny. LGBTQ advocates have characterised the probe as a politically motivated effort to roll back protections for transgender people in the prison system.