Federal Judge Blocks Birthright Citizenship Order Nationwide.

August 7, 2025 — Baltimore, MD — A federal judge in Maryland has issued a nationwide order preventing the Trump administration from enforcing its executive order limiting birthright citizenship. The ruling marks the fourth time since June that a court has blocked the policy.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman’s preliminary injunction stops the administration from withholding citizenship from children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. The judge’s decision follows the case’s return to her court in July from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Executive Order

Signed on the first day of President Trump’s second term, the executive order directs federal agencies to deny automatic citizenship to people born in the U.S. if one parent is undocumented and the other is not a citizen or green-card holder, or if both parents are in the country on temporary visas. Under the order, agencies would have stopped issuing citizenship documents within 30 days to individuals in these categories.

The administration argues that the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause — granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. — does not apply to these children because their parents do not have full allegiance to the country.

Legal Challenges and Supreme Court Context

Legal experts widely maintain that the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in the U.S., regardless of parents’ immigration status, with only limited exceptions.

In February, Judge Boardman had already blocked the order nationwide, but in June, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the use of nationwide injunctions. The 6–3 ruling allowed the administration to narrow court orders against the policy but left room for class action lawsuits to block it nationwide. Shortly afterward, a New Hampshire court paused the order nationwide in such a case.

The Supreme Court did not decide whether states can still sue over the policy. In another case before the 9th Circuit, the administration argued courts should block the order only for residents of states that sued. The states countered that such a ruling would not fully protect them because people move between states.

Scope of the Ruling

In her new decision, Judge Boardman certified a class covering all children born in the U.S. after February 19, 2025, who would be affected by the order. She found that plaintiffs are “extremely likely” to succeed in arguing the policy violates the 14th Amendment and that they would face irreparable harm if it took effect.

The policy remains on hold while litigation continues in multiple courts.