WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Maryland has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new executive order that would narrow access to US birthright citizenship, ruling that the policy is likely unlawful as applied to a class of children whose citizenship rights were addressed in an earlier court case.
US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, halting implementation of President Donald Trump’s August order for families covered by the certified class in the Maryland litigation. The decision is the latest setback for Trump’s effort to limit automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to non-citizen parents. (Business Standard)
Boardman, who had previously blocked Trump’s original attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, said the administration’s latest policy conflicted with a June ruling by the US Supreme Court. In that decision, the justices rejected Trump’s broader effort to deny citizenship to children born in the US when their parents were neither citizens nor lawful permanent residents.
“The Supreme Court ‘already decided that the children in the class are citizens at birth,’” Boardman wrote in her ruling. (Business Standard)
Trump issued two executive orders in August after the Supreme Court ruling. One sought to target so-called “birth tourism”, under which foreign nationals are alleged to travel to the United States specifically to give birth there. It directs federal agencies to develop or revise policies that could allow immigration authorities to deny visas, revoke them or otherwise prevent entry for people believed to be travelling for that purpose.
The second order went further by defining additional circumstances in which children born in the United States would not qualify for citizenship. Among the proposed exclusions are children whose parents were involved in a commercial arrangement intended to secure a US birth, as well as certain children of foreign government or international-organisation employees. The order also identifies cases involving fraud and members of designated terrorist organisations. (Business Standard)
The Maryland case was brought by immigrant-rights organisations and families affected by the administration’s policies. The plaintiffs argued that Trump’s new order attempted to achieve through narrower categories what the Supreme Court had already rejected in his earlier policy.
Boardman agreed that the challengers were entitled to temporary protection while the case proceeds. She said the administration had adopted a “distorted interpretation” of the Supreme Court’s ruling and that the latest order would deny citizenship to children who fell within the class already recognised by the courts. (Business Standard)
The Justice Department had argued that the lawsuit was premature because federal agencies had not yet begun implementing the August order. Government lawyers also questioned whether the existing class actions covered families affected by the new policy and argued that the Supreme Court had not definitively ruled out all possible exceptions to birthright citizenship. (Business Standard)
The judge nevertheless found that immediate judicial intervention was warranted. Her injunction prevents the administration from enforcing the challenged citizenship restrictions against the certified class, although federal agencies may continue preparing guidance on how the executive order would operate. (Reuters)
The ruling leaves the administration facing another round of appeals. The Justice Department could ask a federal appeals court to suspend Boardman’s injunction while the broader legal challenge proceeds. A separate case in New Hampshire is also examining the August order and a request to block parts of it.
The dispute follows a June 30 Supreme Court decision that rejected Trump’s original attempt to end birthright citizenship for children whose parents were not US citizens or permanent residents. The court’s ruling reaffirmed the longstanding understanding of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, subject to limited exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats. (Investing.com)
Trump had pledged to continue pursuing restrictions after that ruling. His administration has since focused on narrower categories of cases, including birth tourism, rather than attempting to apply a blanket restriction to children of non-citizen parents.
The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday’s ruling. Attorney General Todd Blanche has previously defended the August orders, saying the administration drafted them to conform with the Supreme Court’s decision and would continue defending Trump’s position in court. (Washington Post)
