A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday blocked 
Donald Trump's latest attempt to limit birthright citizenship, issuing a preliminary injunction against the narrower executive order he signed after losing at the Supreme Court in June. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's injunction holds until a lawsuit brought by immigrant families and advocacy groups is resolved. The ruling sets the birthright citizenship fight on a path back to the Supreme Court, the Japan Times reported.
What did the August order do? It sought to deny citizenship to the children of "alien enemies", of parents engaged in "birth tourism" and of anyone who took part in a commercial transaction to give birth in the US. The administration defines alien enemies as members of designated terrorist organisations, including drug cartels, and children whose parents work for foreign governments in the US would also have been excluded, the BBC reported.
What did the judge find? In a ruling that, the BBC reported, cited the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's earlier order, Boardman called the 2026 measure "almost certainly unconstitutional" and said the court must "once again" block its enforcement. She found the order likely unlawful as applied to a nationwide class of families whose legal status was already at issue in earlier court fights, the Japan Times reported. She also rejected what the Korea Times reported was an administration contention that the request was premature because enforcing agencies would rely on guidance not yet issued. "No matter what the guidance says, the 2026 Executive Order commands agencies to deny citizenship documents to several broad categories of children," Boardman said.
How did the two sides respond? Government lawyers said the Supreme Court's June ruling did not preclude narrower limits on the right, citing past exceptions for the children of diplomats and alien enemies, the BBC reported. A White House spokesperson told CBS News on Thursday that it was "just another ruling from an activist judge" and that the order is consistent with the Supreme Court's holdings and analysis. Shana Khader, legal director at plaintiff group We Are CASA, said in a statement that the White House "will not succeed in stripping children of their right to citizenship," the Korea Times reported.
What happens next? An appeal by the administration is likely. The Justice Department could next ask a federal appeals court to lift the order and allow officials to proceed while the legal fights continue, the Japan Times reported.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
