A federal judge in Maryland blocked President Trump’s latest attempt at limiting birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction on September 2, 2026 that temporarily prevents the federal government from enforcing an executive order that would have denied citizenship to children born to mothers who came to the U.S. specifically to give birth.
This is another in a series of rulings affirming that children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens themselves derive citizenship from birth.
Background
Trump issued his “Ending Birth Tourism” executive order on August 6, 2026. It differed from his original executive order in that it did not attempt to end birthright citizenship wholesale. Instead, it attempted to deny citizenship to children born to parents who the Trump administration called “alien enemies,” foreign government workers, or anyone who enters the country intending to give birth.
That framing wasn’t an accident. Chief Justice John Roberts struck down Trump’s original attempt to end birthright citizenship via executive order last June (20June 30, 20 26) in Trump v. Barbara. In that decision the court reaffirmed that birthright citizenship extends to all children born on U.S. soil regardless of their parents’ citizenship status. The August order was the administration’s attempt to carve out exceptions the Court hadn’t explicitly foreclosed.
These arguments didn’t persuade the judge. In her ruling, Boardman explained the Supreme Court already ruled on this issue and that includes children covered by the executive order. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued that the executive order didn’t contradict the Court’s ruling. Additionally, the DOJ argued the lawsuit was brought prematurely because there’s no formally issued guidance on the order’s enforcement. Judge Boardman rejected both arguments.
Impact
For now, the order can’t be enforced against the certified class of children, though federal agencies are still free to continue drafting implementation guidance behind the scenes. This ruling is only a preliminary injunction and the lawsuit will continue. The administration is expected to appeal to the Fourth Circuit though no appeal has been filed at this time. It is unknown how the appellate court, or possibly the Supreme Court again, will rule on this narrower version of the policy.
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