A federal judge in Maryland has issued a preliminary injunction halting President Trump’s most recent executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to certain non-citizen parents. District Judge Deborah Boardman, appointed under President Biden, ruled Wednesday that the August order likely violates the Fourteenth Amendment and conflicts with a recent Supreme Court decision.

Explainer Understanding the Supreme Court’s Impact on Law and Liberty

The decision intensifies the ongoing legal and political battle over the scope of birthright citizenship, with the court siding against the administration’s efforts to narrow eligibility.

The dispute follows a series of Trump administration attempts to restrict automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants and foreign nationals, a policy area that has drawn repeated court challenges and divided opinions among lawmakers and judges.

Judge Boardman’s Injunction

Judge Boardman’s 35-page opinion found that challengers to the August executive order are likely to succeed on the merits, writing that the order "infringes on the class members’ Fourteenth Amendment right to citizenship by birth." She cited the Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Barbara decision, which held that children born to people in the country illegally and foreign birth tourists are citizens at birth. Boardman wrote, "The 2026 Executive Order is almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the certified class for the simple reason that the Supreme Court in Barbara already decided that the children in the class are citizens at birth."

"This Court must, once again, preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the President’s most recent attempt to strip the right to citizenship from them."

— Judge Deborah Boardman, U.S. District Court

The injunction blocks enforcement of the order against a nationwide class of children born in the U.S. who would otherwise be denied citizenship under the executive action. Boardman clarified that her order does not prevent the government from issuing public guidance on the order’s implementation, but it does bar the denial of citizenship to those the Supreme Court has already recognized as citizens.

Details of the Executive Order

President Trump’s August order sought to clarify and expand on prior directives by excluding from birthright citizenship children born to members of foreign terrorist organizations, foreign government employees such as ambassadors, and those engaged in so-called "birth tourism." The administration argued these categories were not addressed by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Barbara.

The order followed a previous directive from 2025 that was also blocked by Judge Boardman. According to reporting, the plaintiffs in the case include undocumented mothers who are pregnant or have U.S.-born children. Boardman rejected a request to include parents in the class-action suit, limiting the class to affected children.

Boardman’s ruling certified a nationwide class of children, a move permitted by the Supreme Court’s guidance that lower courts may issue nationwide injunctions in class-action cases. Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, had previously warned in a concurring opinion in Trump v. CASA that class certification could be used to circumvent limits on nationwide injunctions.

Boardman wrote that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed because the executive order contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that "all persons" born in the U.S. are citizens. She also noted that while the government argued for a geographically limited injunction, the nationwide scope was necessary because the order targeted children born anywhere in the United States.

Political Fallout and Impeachment Efforts

Judge Boardman has faced criticism from some Republican lawmakers for her judicial decisions. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, filed articles of impeachment against Boardman, citing her sentencing in the case of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s attempted assassin and accusing her of allowing personal ideology to influence her rulings. Roy’s impeachment effort has not advanced in the House, and a proposed amendment to strip funding from Boardman’s office was defeated with bipartisan opposition. Rep. Roy’s press release details his accusations and calls for swift removal.

Supporters of Boardman’s rulings argue that her decisions uphold constitutional protections and established Supreme Court precedent. The White House and Department of Justice have not publicly responded to the latest injunction.

The next steps in the legal process remain uncertain, as the administration weighs its options for appeal or further executive action.