Federal judge blocks Trump’s latest bid to end birthright citizenship, citing Supreme Court precedent

Published on 03/09/2026 – 6:22 GMT+2

A US federal judge blocked the Trump administration on Wednesday from enforcing a new executive order that would limit eligibility for birthright citizenship.

The decision thwarts President Donald Trump’s newest effort to curb the constitutional right, coming after the US Supreme Court previously rejected a similar measure.

US District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction following a challenge by immigrant‑rights groups against the August 6 executive order, which targeted what the administration termed “birth tourism.”

“The Supreme Court has spoken: children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,’” Boardman wrote in a 35‑page ruling, adding that the August order “is almost certainly unconstitutional.”

Immigrant‑rights organizations welcomed the ruling.

“When it comes to attacking birthright citizenship, the Trump administration has lost before this court, lost before the Supreme Court, and lost again today,” said Shana Khader, legal director of We Are CASA, a Maryland‑based group.

Trump’s latest executive order aimed at individuals he alleges entered the United States under the guise of tourism with the intent to give birth.

In his first order on the matter, Trump declared that children born to parents residing in the US illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically receive US citizenship.

Lower courts blocked that earlier measure, concluding that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to virtually all persons born on American soil, a position affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Administration attorneys contended that the request to halt the order was premature, arguing that federal agencies would implement the policy using “appropriate measures” pending forthcoming guidance.

Judge Boardman rejected that argument.

“No matter what the guidance says, the 2026 Executive Order directs agencies to deny citizenship documents to broad categories of children,” Boardman noted.

“The White House must recognize it cannot strip children of their right to citizenship, evade binding court decisions, or place the president’s anti‑immigrant agenda above the Constitution,” Khader added in a statement.

Trump’s actions on birthright citizenship form part of a wider push to tighten immigration, which includes plans to expel millions of undocumented migrants and end deportation protections for nationals of more than a dozen countries.

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