Biden-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Latest Push to Restrict Birthright Citizenship

President Donald Trump’s latest effort to restrict birthright citizenship has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, dealing another setback to the administration’s attempt to narrow automatic citizenship for children born on American soil.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday against Trump’s revised executive order, which was signed Aug. 6 following an earlier Supreme Court defeat.

Boardman, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, concluded that the latest order is “almost certainly unconstitutional” as applied to the children covered by the class-action lawsuit challenging it.

Trump’s revised policy specifically targeted several categories of births, including so-called “birth tourism,” in which foreign nationals allegedly travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth and securing American citizenship for their children.

The order also sought to deny automatic citizenship in certain cases involving parents classified as “alien enemies,” foreign government employees and individuals allegedly engaged in fraud or commercial transactions designed to obtain birthright citizenship.

Trump issued the narrower order after the Supreme Court rejected his more sweeping 2025 attempt to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States whose parents were illegal immigrants or temporary foreign visitors.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that the children covered by the earlier policy are citizens at birth under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.

Boardman cited that ruling in blocking the administration’s newest policy, arguing that the Supreme Court had already resolved the constitutional status of children included in the certified class.

“The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,’” Boardman wrote.

The injunction prevents federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, State Department and Social Security Administration from denying, challenging or refusing to recognize the citizenship of children protected by the class action.

Federal agencies can still develop guidance explaining how Trump’s executive order would be implemented if the administration ultimately prevails in court.

Justice Department attorneys had argued that the lawsuit was premature because agencies had not yet completed the detailed guidance needed to implement the new restrictions.

Boardman rejected that argument, finding that the language of the executive order itself created a sufficient threat to the citizenship rights of affected children to justify immediate court intervention.

Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the administration’s approach, saying Trump’s revised order was deliberately crafted around the Supreme Court’s June decision.

Blanche indicated that the administration intends to continue fighting the issue and could ultimately take the dispute back to the Supreme Court.

The White House also blasted the ruling, accusing a Biden-appointed judge of attempting to obstruct Trump’s immigration agenda while maintaining that the new executive order is consistent with the Supreme Court’s reasoning.

Trump has argued for years that the traditional interpretation of birthright citizenship is too expansive, particularly when it allows children born to illegal immigrants or short-term foreign visitors to automatically become American citizens.

Opponents maintain that the 14th Amendment provides citizenship to nearly everyone born inside the United States, with only narrow historical exceptions.

The Maryland ruling is not the end of the legal battle. Another challenge to Trump’s revised birthright citizenship policies is pending in New Hampshire, while the administration has made clear it is prepared to pursue additional appeals.

For now, however, Trump’s latest attempt to narrow birthright citizenship has been stopped before it can be fully implemented — setting up yet another major court battle over one of the president’s most ambitious immigration priorities.