US Federal Judge Blocks President Donald Trump's New Executive Order Targeting Birthright Citizenship

Hannah Liu, 26, of Washington, holds up a sign in support of birthright citizenship on May 15, 2025, outside the Supreme Court in Washington, DC.

A United States federal judge in Maryland has blocked President Donald Trump’s latest effort to roll back birthright citizenship, following a Supreme Court ruling that found his previous attempt violated the Constitution. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s new executive order, which was released on August 6.

The updated order targeted what President Donald Trump termed “birth tourism”—the practice of intentionally giving birth on foreign soil—and sought to deny citizenship to the children of foreign nationals in certain categories, including individuals accused of commercial transactions to obtain citizenship or those classified as an “alien enemy.”

However, Judge Deborah Boardman ruled that the order was unconstitutional for the same reasons President Donald Trump’s prior effort failed, pointing to the Supreme Court’s June ruling in the case Barbara v Trump. She wrote that the order is almost certainly unconstitutional because the Supreme Court already established in Barbara that the children in question are citizens at birth, requiring the court to once again enjoin enforcement of the administration's latest attempt to strip them of citizenship.

In the Barbara case, the Supreme Court ruled six to three that birthright citizenship remains protected under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in the US, subject to narrow exceptions such as the children of diplomats or invading armies. The constitutional basis for birthright citizenship has been reinforced in numerous historical Supreme Court cases, including US v Wong Kim Ark, involving an American man born to Chinese parents.

Despite campaigning on a pledge to reform birthright citizenship and curb immigration, President Donald Trump and his allies have continued seeking legal avenues to challenge these constitutional protections following their June defeat at the Supreme Court. Wednesday's legal challenge was spearheaded by immigrant rights advocates and families, featuring organizations such as the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, who previously secured an injunction from Judge Deborah Boardman against the administration's initial executive order.

Although Judge Deborah Boardman instructed plaintiffs to update their complaint to specifically address the second executive order rather than relying on previous materials, she expressed deep skepticism regarding the initiative, calling it unprecedented before issuing Wednesday's ruling emphasizing that the Supreme Court has already spoken on the matter.