A federal judge has officially pumped the brakes on President Trump’s latest effort to rein in birthright citizenship through executive order. US District Judge Deborah Boardman, who is based in Maryland, issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks the scaled-down executive orders signed by the President.
As reported by the NY Post, the core of the issue stems from Judge Boardman’s assessment of the legality of these new directives. In her written opinion, she stated, “The 2026 Executive Order is almost certainly unconstitutional … for the simple reason that the Supreme Court in Barbara already decided that the children in the class are citizens at birth.”
Her ruling specifically references the Supreme Court case, Trump v. Barbara, which previously struck down the administration’s first attempt to alter birthright citizenship standards. Judge Boardman further noted, “This Court must, once again, preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the President’s most recent attempt to strip the right to citizenship from them.”
Trump wants to stop birth tourism
Last month, President Trump reportedly signed two separate executive orders aimed at curbing what is commonly referred to as birth tourism. This is the practice of traveling to the United States specifically to have a baby on American soil. The first order identified a list of children who were not eligible for automatic birthright citizenship, while the second directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State to take concrete steps to stop the practice.
These orders were reportedly designed to expand preexisting exceptions for birthright citizenship, such as blocking the children of foreign diplomats or those deemed to be alien enemies from receiving automatic citizenship. The administration defined alien enemies as individuals belonging to designated terrorist organizations, including specific drug cartels.
The administration’s frustration with the ruling was immediate. Attorney General Todd Blanche reportedly spoke to media, stating, “We crafted the EO around, and in concurrence, and understanding what the Supreme Court said in their decision. And so we expected— we didn’t expect this judge to say we were right.”
The White House also issued a formal response to the injunction, as BBC reports. A spokesperson for the White House, Lauren Bis, said in a statement, “This is just another ruling from an activist judge appointed by Biden attempting to thwart President Trump’s commonsense agenda. The birthright citizenship executive order is consistent with the holdings and analysis set forth by the Supreme Court.”
This legal challenge was brought to the court by a nonprofit organization known as CASA, along with other immigrant rights groups like the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. The groups argued that the executive orders infringed upon constitutional rights. While the administration’s lawyers contended that the Supreme Court’s ruling in June did not preclude more narrow options to limit birthright citizenship, the court remained unconvinced.
Published: Sep 3, 2026 05:30 pm