Federal Judge Blocks Trump Executive Order Restricting Birthright Citizenship

A federal judge in Maryland has blocked a second attempt by President Donald Trump to restrict birthright citizenship for certain categories of people born on United States soil. Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction against Executive Order 14418, which was signed on August 6. The judge stated in a 35 page ruling that the order is almost certainly unconstitutional and contradicts a binding Supreme Court decision from June. That previous ruling in the case of Barbara v. Trump determined that children born in the U.S. to parents in the covered class are citizens from birth under the 14th Amendment.

The August order was narrower in scope than Trump's first attempt in January 2025. It specifically targeted birth tourism, children of parents linked to foreign governments or diplomatic missions, and those born to parents classified as foreign enemies. It also sought to exclude children whose parents engaged in a commercial transaction to access birthright citizenship, which the text defined as including the purchase of an airplane ticket. Judge Boardman noted that the order's language could be read retroactively, potentially affecting babies already born and recognized as citizens.

The ruling prohibits the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Social Security Administration from denying citizenship to children born after February 19, 2025, who are part of the certified class. The Department of Justice argued that the lawsuit was premature because implementation guidelines had not yet been released, but the judge rejected this reasoning. The decision was celebrated by immigrant rights groups, who viewed it as a continuation of the administration's legal losses regarding the 14th Amendment.