Opposing Discriminatory Changes at the Office of Refugee Resettlement
August 26, 2026
Woodhull Freedom Foundation Response to Proposed Revisions to Information Collection by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR): Proposed Information Collection Activity; Monitoring and Compliance for Office of Refugee Resettlement Care Provider Facilities
Woodhull Freedom Foundation is a national organization dedicated to defending and protecting sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. Woodhull protects individuals’ rights across the United States to enjoy sexual dignity, privacy, and consensual sexual expression without societal or governmental interference, coercion, or stigmatization. In carrying out this work, we defend the rights, health, and safety of Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Expansive individuals. It is in this capacity that we submit this comment to oppose the proposed revisions published in the Federal Register on August 5, 2026, by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The proposed revisions make changes to information collection practices as part of the “Monitoring and Compliance for ORR Care Provider Facilities.”
Unaccompanied migrant youth reside in these ORR Care Provider Facilities while in US government custody during the family reunification process. The management of these facilities is crucial to protecting the physical and mental wellbeing of unaccompanied migrant youth. Woodhull is therefore extremely concerned by ORR’s proposed revisions that would change “the field label for ‘Gender’ to ‘Sex’ and limit options to Male or Female” on all ORR forms.
In the proposed revisions, ORR does not explicitly reference the White House’s Executive Order 14168 “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” however, this change is reflective of the Order’s attempts to make it the United States policy to recognize only two sexes, male and female. These proposed revisions reinforce this effort by only permitting youth within ORR custody to select between male and female when completing forms, such as upon intake at an ORR facility. The recognition of only two sexes is not only scientifically inaccurate but extremely harmful to the mental and physical well-being of gender diverse individuals. We include here a brief excerpt from our Fact Checked by Woodhull series, which addresses the reality of sex and gender:
“Sex and gender are complex and exist on a spectrum, yet society often creates narrow, rigid categories that fail to reflect this diversity. These restrictive categories can cause harm by excluding and shaming anyone who exists outside of these lines, especially transgender and intersex people. Being forced into categories that do not align with identity can cause discrimination and violence in families, healthcare, and social systems. This can have serious long-term emotional and physical consequences for individuals who are outside of these lines. For example, transgender youth reported significantly increased rates of depression, suicidality, and victimization compared to their cisgender peers. These are often accompanied by struggling with belonging in school, family issues, and internalized self-stigma.”
It is imperative that ORR and all federal government policies accurately represent the complexities of sex and gender. We include in this comment PDFs of Woodhull publications, which provide accurate language that should be used in public policy related to gender and sex:
Sex and Gender Are Not The Same
Transgender People Are Not a Threat to Public Safety
The proposed revision from ORR threatens the human rights and wellbeing of unaccompanied migrant youth in the US and furthers the cruel attacks against transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive individuals. We also raise alarm at the fact that this is all part of a nationwide assault on trans people that is so dire that the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has warned that policies targeting transgender people in the United States are indicative of the early stages of genocide.
We call on ORR to recognize the proposed revision’s inherent harms to human rights and gender equality and reject its implementation.