A US federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing its latest executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship.
US District Judge Deborah Boardman of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday. The ruling prevents the administration from implementing the new restrictions while the legal challenge continues.
The decision marks another setback for President Donald Trump’s efforts to change how birthright citizenship is applied in the United States.
Court Says New Order Is Likely Unconstitutional
Judge Boardman ruled that Trump’s latest order is almost certainly unconstitutional. She also pointed to the US Supreme Court’s earlier decision on the issue.
The latest executive order was issued on August 6. It targets what the Trump administration describes as “birth tourism,” involving people who travel to the United States while allegedly intending to give birth there.
Trump’s administration has argued that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or on temporary visas should not automatically receive US citizenship.
Rights groups challenged the new order in court. Their appeal led to Wednesday’s ruling in Maryland.
Judge Boardman said the Supreme Court had already recognized that children covered by the certified class are citizens at birth.
Trump Administration Faces Repeated Legal Challenges
The latest ruling follows an earlier legal battle over Trump’s first executive order targeting birthright citizenship.
Lower federal courts blocked that order. They found that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment protects citizenship for nearly everyone born on US soil.
The Supreme Court later rejected the administration’s attempt to enforce the earlier order.
The new ruling therefore represents another major legal obstacle to Trump’s broader immigration agenda.
Immigrant rights organisations welcomed the decision. They argued that the administration had repeatedly failed in its attempts to restrict birthright citizenship through executive action.
Birthright Citizenship Debate Continues
Trump has made immigration restrictions a central part of his administration’s policy agenda.
His broader measures include efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants and remove deportation protections from nationals of more than a dozen countries.
The administration says tighter immigration controls are necessary to address illegal migration and prevent misuse of US immigration policies.
Opponents argue that restricting birthright citizenship would undermine constitutional protections and create uncertainty for children born in the United States.
The legal battle over the issue is expected to continue as the Trump administration seeks to defend its latest executive order in federal court.
