Federal officials are investigating whether prison housing policies in Maine and California violate the constitutional rights of women inmates.

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether California and Maine violate female inmates’ rights by housing them with transgender women.

The Trump administration said it had sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom informing him of a federal investigation into two state women's prisons to determine 'if those prisons unconstitutionally

Lawyers have tried to force the state of Texas to provide air-conditioning in its prisons for years. Now, they say this case may be their best shot to force lasting change.

Some employees at a federal prison in Bryan, Texas, which holds high-profile women including Ghislaine Maxwell, said they faced retaliation for reporting abuse.

There were allegedly five heat-related deaths over the last two summers in Texas prisons, the plaintiff’s attorneys presented on the first day of the federal trial over insufficient air conditioning in these facilities.

The Justice Department says it will investigate allegations that Maine has allowed a transgender inmate to remain housed with women despite complaints that the inmate has assaulted or harassed other inmates.

About two-thirds of Texas prisons are not fully air conditioned, and dozens of inmates have died in the sweltering heat.