Trump Admin Slams Biden-Appointed Judge for ‘Extreme Gender Fanaticism’

In a fiery rebuke that underscores the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance stance on illegal immigration and gender ideology, the Department of Homeland Security is calling out a federal judge for what it says is judicial activism run amok.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin didn’t hold back, accusing U.S. District Judge Amy Baggio — a Biden appointee — of pushing “gender ideology fanaticism” after she ordered the release of a transgender illegal alien from a male ICE detention center.

“This judge ignored the law, ignored biology, and ignored the will of the American people,” McLaughlin said. “This wasn’t justice. It was activism from the bench.”

The migrant at the center of the firestorm, 33-year-old Odalis Jhonatan Martinez-Velasquez, is a biological male from Mexico who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023. After being detained outside a Portland courtroom in June, Martinez-Velasquez was transferred to the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, where — in accordance with President Trump’s executive order — the detainee was held in a male facility.

But that didn’t sit well with Judge Baggio.

Despite the fact that Martinez-Velasquez had already been ordered for expedited removal and had their asylum case dismissed, Baggio ruled this week that ICE violated due process by not disclosing the migrant’s location to lawyers fast enough — and ordered the detainee’s immediate release.

“An immigration judge — not a federal district judge — should be making these decisions,” said McLaughlin. “This ruling undermines the administration’s efforts to restore sanity to our immigration system and protect biological women from unsafe detention practices.”

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order titled the Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism Act, which strictly bars placing biological males in female detention centers. DHS says Judge Baggio’s ruling flies in the face of that order — and that Martinez-Velasquez’s identity doesn’t grant special privileges.

“Illegal status is not erased by claiming a gender identity,” McLaughlin said. “And that certainly doesn’t give anyone the right to bypass national security laws or ICE protocols.”

Martinez-Velasquez, through attorneys with the far-left Innovation Law Lab, claims to have fled cartel violence in Mexico due to being transgender. The legal team says she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted before fleeing to the U.S. in September 2023. Lawyers argued that her placement in a male facility put her life at risk and cited a lack of transparency from ICE after her arrest.

Her attorneys, including Stephen Manning of Immigrant Law Group, filed a habeas corpus petition demanding release, saying they couldn’t even locate their client for weeks.

But critics say this is just another instance of left-wing legal groups weaponizing identity politics to undermine federal enforcement.

“She’s not a U.S. citizen, she’s not a crime victim here, and she broke the law,” said a senior ICE official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We followed every legal procedure. What happened here was a politically motivated override of immigration law.”

This incident comes as sanctuary cities and states like Oregon continue to resist federal immigration enforcement — and as gender politics becomes a growing flashpoint in the 2025 campaign season.

McLaughlin was blunt: “No matter how you identify, if you enter this country illegally under President Trump, there will be consequences. Period.”

The case has infuriated conservatives, sparked backlash on Capitol Hill, and further fueled calls for judicial accountability.

The DHS clash with Judge Baggio highlights a broader battle unfolding between the Trump administration and remnants of Biden-era progressive policy embedded in the federal judiciary. With a flood of activist legal groups eager to challenge Trump’s directives in court, officials say they’re bracing for more clashes.

“The American people elected President Trump to restore the rule of law — not bend it to radical ideologies,” said McLaughlin. “This is far from over.”