Federal judge blocks Trump’s second attempt to limit birthright citizenship
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled that the Supreme Court had already recognized the children covered by the lawsuit as U.S. citizens at birth and that Trump’s new executive order could not strip them of that citizenship.
A federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked the Trump administration Sept. 2 from enforcing most of President Donald Trump’s second executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship against a class of U.S.-born children whose parents were unlawfully or temporarily present in the country.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, issued a preliminary injunction in a class-action lawsuit brought by immigration advocacy groups that had also challenged Trump’s first attempt to limit birthright citizenship.
In a 35-page opinion, Boardman said the new order was “almost certainly unconstitutional” as applied to the certified class because the Supreme Court “has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth.’”
“No Presidential Executive Order can undo what the Supreme Court has done,” Boardman also wrote, referring to the Supreme Court’s June 30 ruling in Trump v. Barbara.
In that case, the court rejected Trump’s January 2025 order, holding that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly all children born on U.S. soil, including those whose parents are in the country unlawfully or temporarily.
Trump signed a narrower order Aug. 6 that again sought to limit birthright citizenship, this time pinpointing specific groups. The order barred federal agencies from issuing or recognizing citizenship documents for certain people born in the U.S. when neither parent is an American citizen and at least one parent is (1) an “alien enemy,” (2) a foreign government employee, or (3) someone who engaged in fraud to obtain citizenship for the child.
The order also applied to children born in U.S. territories or territorial waters where federal law does not automatically grant citizenship. The plaintiffs did not challenge that part of the order, so Boardman left it in effect.
The administration described the order as a narrow policy consistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling and intended partly to prevent birth tourism, which it defined in a separate August order as entering the U.S. on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs argued that the new order “imposes significant additional harm because it provides so little clarity about how or to whom it applies, causing confusion and fear.”
Boardman agreed and said the plaintiffs were “highly likely” to prevail on their claim that the order violates the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause as applied to the class.
The injunction bars federal agencies from enforcing Trump’s order against any child born on or after Feb. 19, 2025, to one or both parents who were unlawfully in the U.S. at the time of the child’s birth.
Andrew R. Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, suggested the narrower orders could tee up cases that might give the Supreme Court an opportunity to reconsider the breadth of its ruling.
“If the administration plays its cards right (a big ‘if’), its latest birthright orders will invite some unpopular challenges — and may prompt the justices to pare down their sweeping Barbara order,” Arthur wrote Aug. 7.
The administration has continued efforts to crack down on fraudulent birth tourism. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News Sept. 3 that his agency is working with other federal agencies to explore ways to prevent women late in pregnancy from entering the U.S. He pointed to existing health-related entry restrictions as an example and raised concerns about the safety of traveling late in the third trimester.
“We’re looking at how we can stop some of this birthright citizenship by saying, ‘Hey, maybe you shouldn’t come to the country if you’re late in your third term,’” Mullin said on Fox.
Hours after the Supreme Court issued its decision in Barbara, the DOJ also directed federal prosecutors to prioritize investigations and prosecutions of birth tourism schemes, a “booming industry” officials said would continue because of the court’s decision.
Several Republican lawmakers have also announced they plan to pursue legislative and constitutional routes to restrict automatic citizenship to children with at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident.
>> Senator moves to end birthright citizenship, taking cues from Supreme Court ruling <<
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