WASHINGTON — A judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s latest executive order aimed at narrowing birthright citizenship, issuing a preliminary injunction Wednesday while a class-action lawsuit brought by immigrant families and advocacy groups moves forward.
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman in Maryland ruled that the order cannot take effect until the court resolves the challenge. “The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,’” Boardman, a Biden appointee, wrote in her decision.
Under current law and the 14th Amendment, anyone born on U.S. soil is generally granted citizenship, with limited exceptions. Trump has repeatedly sought to curb that right; an earlier executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship was struck down by the Supreme Court in June.
In August the administration issued a narrower order targeting what it described as “birth tourism” and certain categories of parents it said should not confer automatic citizenship to their U.S.-born children. The order defined birth tourism as entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth, and it sought to deny citizenship to children whose parents “engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship.” Critics warned the language risked sweeping in ordinary travel—such as families who purchased airfare to the U.S. and later discovered a pregnancy—while officials said existing visa rules already treat deliberate birth tourism as fraud.
Plaintiffs in the suit, including We Are CASA, the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, argued the administration’s definitions were overly broad and vague. They said the government’s approach to labeling someone an “alien enemy” has at times relied on speculation or misinformation, and could unfairly deny children citizenship because of remote or tenuous connections—such as an extended family member’s alleged gang ties—rather than the parents’ own actions.
The administration argued the challenge was premature, noting that federal agencies charged with implementing the order would issue guidance and employ “appropriate measures.” Judge Boardman rejected that defense, saying the executive order itself requires agencies to withhold citizenship documents from broad categories of children regardless of later guidance.
“The White House must recognize it will not succeed in stripping children of their right to citizenship, evading binding court decisions or placing the president’s anti-immigrant agenda above the Constitution,” said Shana Khader, legal director at We Are CASA, in a prepared statement.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.