US judge questions Trump birthright citizenship order but won't block it yet

A federal judge has refused to immediately halt President Donald Trump's newest executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland expressed sharp doubts about the order's validity, especially after the Supreme Court rejected a previous attempt by Trump to end birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens.

Boardman stated she could not block the 2026 order because the current lawsuit did not explicitly mention it. However, she granted immigrant rights advocates permission to amend their complaint and set a fast-track schedule for them to challenge the order again. She noted the order "tries to strike out exceptions to birthright citizenship with the stroke of a pen," calling the move "unprecedented."

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As far as I can tell, this is unprecedented.

The Supreme Court on June 30 rejected Trump's initial bid to end birthright citizenship for children whose parents were not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. The court found that attempt violated the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause. Following this decision, Trump signed a new order on August 6 specifically targeting "birth tourism," where foreign nationals travel to the U.S. to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.

The new order also proposes denying citizenship to children whose parents work for foreign governments in the U.S., engage in fraud to obtain citizenship, or are classified as "alien enemies." Lawyers representing babies who would be deprived of citizenship under Trump's previous order asked Boardman to block the new directive. The Department of Justice argued against the block, stating federal agencies had not yet released guidance on its implementation.

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tries to strike out exceptions to birthright citizenship with the stroke of a pen.