Judge blocks Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, saying children are “citizens at birth”

A federal judge in Maryland has blocked Donald Trump’s latest effort to limit birthright citizenship, ruling that the children covered by a class action are “citizens at birth.”

U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued a preliminary injunction that will remain in place while the lawsuit brought by immigrant families and immigrant-rights organizations proceeds. Boardman was appointed by former President Joe Biden.

U.S. law generally grants citizenship to anyone born on American soil, with limited exceptions. The principle dates to 1868, when the 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War. Trump has repeatedly sought to end or restrict the policy.

His latest executive order focused on children born to adults with links to embassies, foreign organizations or another entity deemed an “enemy foreign” of the United States. It also sought to deny citizenship where parents had taken part in a commercial transaction to obtain birthright citizenship. Families said they feared the order could reach ordinary cases, including people who bought plane tickets to travel to the United States and became pregnant after arriving.

The administration has described birth tourism as entering the country on a nonimmigrant visa with the purpose of giving birth there. The practice is already considered fraudulent and can justify restricting a visa application made specifically to obtain citizenship for a child. The families and advocacy groups argued that the White House had adopted an overly broad view of who qualifies as a foreign enemy and sometimes relied on speculation or inaccurate information. Boardman’s order remains in effect until the class-action case is resolved.

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The Supreme Court has already ruled: the children in the class action are citizens at birth.