US judge blocks Trump's latest bid to curb birthright citizenship

Maryland,UPDATED: Sep 3, 2026 08:26 IST

A federal judge in the US has blocked President Donald Trump's latest attempt to limit birthright citizenship, issuing a preliminary injunction against an executive order that the administration said was aimed at “birth tourism”. The order will remain blocked until a class-action lawsuit by immigrant families and advocacy groups is decided.

US District Judge Deborah L Boardman in Maryland said children covered by the certified class are citizens at birth under existing law. “The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are citizens at birth,” wrote Boardman, who was appointed by President Joe Biden.

Birthright citizenship is guaranteed under current US law for almost everyone born on American soil, with a few exceptions. The protection dates back to 1868, when the 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War. Trump has long sought to end birthright citizenship. In June, the Supreme Court struck down an earlier executive order that said children born to people in the US illegally or temporarily were not American citizens.

In August, Trump issued a narrower executive order that appeared to limit automatic citizenship for certain categories, including children born to adults linked to foreign embassies or organisations, or to anyone considered an “alien enemy” of the United States. The order defined birth tourism as entering the US on a “nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil”. Birth tourism is already treated as fraud and can be grounds to restrict a visa if a person seeks one specifically to obtain US citizenship for a child.

The order sought to deny citizenship to children born to adults who “engaged in a commercial transaction to purchase or access birthright citizenship”. Some families told the court they feared their children could be denied citizenship simply because they bought air tickets to travel to the US and became pregnant after arriving. Families and organisations that challenged the move also said the executive branch had taken a broad view of who could qualify as an alien enemy, sometimes based on speculation or misinformation. Others said they feared their children could be denied citizenship because someone in their extended family was linked to a gang in their home country, even though the parents themselves were not gang members. They said the uncertainty had caused confusion and fear.

The lawsuit was filed with the support of We Are CASA, the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. Lawyers for the administration argued that a request to block the order was premature and said federal agencies would use “appropriate measures” based on official guidance that had not yet been issued. Boardman rejected that argument, writing, “No matter what the guidance says, the 2026 Executive Order commands agencies to deny citizenship documents to several broad categories of children.” In a prepared statement, We Are CASA legal director Shana Khader said, “The White House must recognise it will not succeed in stripping children of their right to citizenship, evading binding court decisions or placing the president's anti-immigrant agenda above the Constitution.” The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The ruling keeps the order on hold for now while the wider legal challenge continues.

With PTI Inputs

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