Federal judge blocks Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship

A federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order signed on August 6, which aimed to limit birthright citizenship in the United States. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman stated in a 35-page ruling that the order is "almost certainly unconstitutional." Boardman referenced a June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that prevented Trump from implementing a previous executive order from 2025 that sought to limit citizenship at birth. In her ruling, Boardman emphasized the importance of birthright citizenship, stating, "This Court must, once again, preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the President’s most recent attempt to strip the right to citizenship from them." Last week, Boardman had denied a request from CASA Inc., a nonprofit organization in Maryland, to block the executive order due to a technicality related to the original complaint. However, she indicated that she would rule in favor of CASA Inc. after the complaint was updated. Boardman described Trump’s actions as an attempt to "rewrite the carve-outs to birthright citizenship with the stroke of a pen." The judge noted that since Trump began his second term on January 20, 2025, he has sought to alter the longstanding tradition of birthright citizenship, which is protected by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the ruling. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in an interview that the ruling was not unexpected, as the executive order was crafted with consideration of the Supreme Court's previous decision. He indicated that the administration would continue to pursue the matter, stating, "if we have to go back to the Supreme Court, we will." The August executive order was narrower than the previous one signed at the beginning of Trump’s second term, which aimed to broadly end birthright citizenship. The earlier order faced legal challenges for violating the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the U.S. The August order specifically sought to restrict birthright citizenship for children born to parents classified as "alien enemies" or those working for foreign embassies. Additionally, the State Department has proposed requiring parents to provide proof of their citizenship or immigration status when applying for passports for their children.