A federal judge in Maryland has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to narrow birthright citizenship, saying a recent Supreme Court decision already settled the main question. U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of a new executive order while a class-action lawsuit moves forward, according to the Associated Press and CBS News.
The order at issue was signed recently and aimed to deny automatic citizenship at birth to children in several categories, including those born to people the order labels “alien enemies,” to foreign government employees or affiliates, and to parents alleged to have engaged in so‑called “birth tourism.” The AP reported that the plaintiffs — immigrant families and advocacy groups — asked the court to stop the policy, arguing the administration had taken an overly broad view of who might be labeled an “alien enemy,” and that the new rules could sweep up families based on unproven allegations or distant relatives’ conduct.
Boardman, a federal judge in the District of Maryland, said the challengers are likely to succeed because a recent Supreme Court decision rejected an earlier, broader bid to end birthright citizenship. CBS News reported that the judge treated that ruling as controlling and did not address each exception in the newer order individually. In her injunction, she also rejected the government’s argument that the challenge was premature and said the text of the order could lead officials to deny citizenship documents to broad categories of newborns, the AP reported.
Under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, people born in the United States are citizens, with limited historic exceptions. A recent Supreme Court decision, as summarized by the Washington Post and CBS News, reaffirmed that principle in striking down an earlier executive order that had sought to declare that children born to people in the country illegally or on temporary visas are not citizens. The administration contended that well-established exceptions — such as for children of diplomats and enemy combatants — left room to narrow citizenship in certain cases. But the plaintiffs, including CASA (also known as We Are CASA), the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, and Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, said the newer order tried to expand those exceptions beyond what the court has recognized, CBS News and the AP reported.
Families who sued told the court they feared confusion and mistakes if the order took effect, including the possibility that babies could be denied passports or other documents because parents bought plane tickets before becoming pregnant or because of broad gang or terrorism designations, the AP reported. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the AP and CBS News.
Why it matters
This ruling keeps the existing rules in place: If your child is born in the United States, they are generally a citizen. That means fewer surprises at the passport office or Social Security window while the case proceeds. It also avoids a sudden shift that could have led to different rules from one federal office to another. For busy families and frontline clerks, clearer, steadier rules mean fewer headaches as the courts sort out the limits of executive power and the meaning of the 14th Amendment.