A federal judge blocked a new executive order from Trump on Wednesday that aimed to deny U.S. citizenship at birth to children of foreigners who entered the country through a "commercial transaction" to obtain that benefit, a practice known as "birth tourism," as well as to children of individuals classified as "foreign enemies."
Judge Deborah Boardman, of the District of Maryland and appointed by former President Biden, issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the enforcement of that order, signed by the president last month.
Boardman based his decision on the fact that the new rule directly contradicts the ruling issued by the Supreme Court in June, when it overturned the central provisions of a broader directive that Trump had signed on his first day in office.
"The Supreme Court has spoken," Boardman wrote in his ruling. His decision from June, he noted, "is the law of the land. The president must adhere to it."
Trump's first executive order on birthright citizenship, signed in January 2025, aimed to eliminate that right for children of foreign nationals without legal status or with temporary visas. After being blocked by the courts, the case reached the Supreme Court, which in June 2026 struck down its key provisions.
In response to that setback, the administration sought a new avenue with a more limited order in August, arguing that it only addressed exceptions left open by the supreme ruling.
The judge outright rejected that reasoning, calling it a "distorted interpretation" of the Supreme Court's ruling.
The Boardman injunction prohibits applying the new order to any child born after February 19, 2025.
Although the Justice Department lawyers insisted to the court that the rule was not retroactive, the judge noted that they did not present any "sworn statement" to support that claim.
"The text of the order strongly supports a reading that it applies retroactively," Boardman wrote in his ruling.
Birthright citizenship in the United States is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868, which establishes that all persons born in U.S. territory and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens.
This provision has historically been interpreted broadly by the courts of the country.
"Birth tourism" is a practice that directly affects Latin American communities, including the Cuban community, whose members in recent years have traveled to the United States to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children.
The blocked order would have affected these families had they entered the country through what the regulation defines as a "commercial transaction" for that purpose.
Neither the White House nor the Department of Justice immediately responded to requests for comment. The case remains in litigation, and the government is expected to appeal the decision.
Las disputas legales sobre ciudadanía por nacimiento y otras políticas migratorias de la administración Trump siguen en evolución. En nuestra sección de encontrarás la cobertura más actualizada sobre estos y otros temas que afectan a la comunidad inmigrante.
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