I wrote a story a few years ago, and I just did a quick search and can't immediately find it, in which I interviewed a paralegal who is a prison-reform advocate in Detroit.

She hit me up with really wild anecdotes and statistics about the federal prison system. According to her, even though the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is supposed to place transgender women in women's prisons when it's necessary for their safety, that almost never happens.

She says the BOP has immense discretion, and they are entirely reluctant to actually follow policy.

Of course, that was years ago when the policy centered trans-inmate safety.

Trump's new policy takes away the BOP's already foot-dragging discretion, and safety won't matter at all. Only the cruelty will matter, and the cruelty is the point of the Trump administration. That's what appeals to his deplorable supporters.