3 September 2026 Punjab Khabarnama Bureau : A US federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that the administration cannot deny citizenship to children covered by an ongoing class-action lawsuit.
US District Judge Deborah L. Boardman in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction on September 2, saying the Supreme Court had already established that children in the certified class are “citizens at birth.”
Trump’s New Executive Order Targeted Birth Tourism
Trump signed his latest executive order on August 6, after the Supreme Court rejected his earlier, broader attempt to restrict birthright citizenship.
The new order focused particularly on so-called “birth tourism” and sought to deny citizenship in certain circumstances involving parents who enter the US on nonimmigrant visas for the purpose of giving birth, foreign-government employees, people classified as “alien enemies” and certain alleged commercial transactions involving citizenship.
Judge Says Supreme Court Has Already Spoken
Boardman said the latest order was almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the children represented in the lawsuit.
Her ruling relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s June decision in Trump v. Barbara, in which the justices rejected Trump’s earlier attempt to deny citizenship to children born in the US based on their parents’ immigration status.
The Supreme Court’s ruling reaffirmed the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which provides US citizenship to people born in the country and subject to its jurisdiction, with limited exceptions.
What Is Birthright Citizenship?
Birthright citizenship generally means that a person born on US soil automatically becomes a US citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents, subject to narrow constitutional exceptions.
The principle dates to the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War.
Trump Has Tried to Change the Policy Twice
Trump has repeatedly sought to narrow the scope of birthright citizenship since returning to the White House.
His first executive order, issued in January 2025, attempted to exclude children born to undocumented immigrants and certain temporarily present parents from automatic citizenship.
That effort was blocked by lower courts before the Supreme Court ruled against the administration’s position in June 2026.
New Order Was Narrower but Still Challenged
The administration argued that the August order was significantly narrower than the earlier policy and that the latest lawsuit was premature because federal agencies had not yet issued detailed implementation guidance.
Justice Department lawyers argued that the government should be allowed to complete that process before courts intervened. Boardman rejected the argument, saying the executive order itself directed agencies to deny citizenship documents to broad categories of children.
Court Blocks Federal Agencies From Enforcement
The injunction prevents federal agencies, including the State Department, Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration, from taking steps to interfere with, deny or fail to recognise the citizenship of children covered by the class-action case.
The ruling does not prevent the agencies from preparing guidance on how the administration’s order was intended to operate.
Immigrant Rights Groups Welcome Ruling
The lawsuit was brought by immigrant families and advocacy organisations, including We Are CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.
The groups argued that families faced uncertainty over whether their US-born children would be recognised as citizens under the new order. They welcomed the injunction as protection for children whose citizenship rights were being challenged.
White House Yet to Respond
The White House had not immediately responded to requests for comment following Boardman’s ruling.
The administration is expected to continue defending Trump’s executive order as the broader legal battle over birthright citizenship proceeds.
Why the Ruling Matters
The decision represents another legal setback for Trump’s efforts to alter birthright citizenship through executive action.
The central issue is whether a president can create new restrictions on citizenship through an executive order when courts have already determined that the 14th Amendment protects citizenship for children born in the United States.
Boardman’s ruling indicates that, at least for the children covered by the class action, the administration cannot sidestep the Supreme Court’s earlier decision through a narrower executive order.
Legal Battle Is Not Over
The preliminary injunction is not necessarily the final word on Trump’s latest order.
The underlying class-action lawsuit remains ongoing, and further proceedings could determine the ultimate scope and legality of the administration’s policy.
For now, however, the injunction prevents the government from enforcing the contested citizenship restrictions against the certified class.