Federal Judge Blocks Donald Trump's Latest Bid To Restrict Birthright Citizenship Even As US Proposes New Passport Rules

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A federal judge in the US on Wednesday (local time ) has blocked President Donald Trump's latest attempt to limit birthright citizenship, granting a preliminary injunction against an executive order which was issued after the Supreme Court struck down his previous attempts last year.

US District Judge Deborah L Boardman in Maryland issued the injunction until a class-action lawsuit brought by immigrant families and advocacy groups is resolved.

“The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are 'citizens at birth,'” Boardman wrote in Wednesday's ruling, according to The Associated Press.

Trump's Executive Order on 'birth tourism'

In August, Trump signed an executive order expanding the categories of noncitizen parents whose children would be ineligible for citizenship is likely unlawful as applied to a nationwide class of families whose legal status was already at issue in earlier court fights. The new exclusions were aimed at what the Trump administration described as 'birth tourism' and included anyone who took part in a“commercial transaction to ensure” they give birth in the US.

Also Read | What is 'birth tourism'? Trump administration's new target after SC ruling

It defined birth tourism as someone entering the United States on a“nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil.”

What the lawsuit said

The lawsuit was filed by affected families and organizations representing them, arguing that uncertainty surrounding the order left them with confusion and fear.

They were joined in the lawsuit by We Are CASA, the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project and the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.

According to The Associated Press, the petitioners told the court that the executive branch has taken a broad view of who qualifies as an alien enemy, sometimes relying on speculation or misinformation to make that determination.

Others said they feared their children would be denied citizenship because a member of the parents' extended family was connected to a gang in their home country, even though the parents were not gang members.

Also Read | Trump calls birthright citizenship ruling a miscarriage of justice

Judge Boardman, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, wrote in her order that the administration had advanced a“distorted interpretation” of the high court ruling striking down Trump's original executive order to restrict birthright citizenship. She said the president's latest action would deny the status to members of the class she'd already certified covering children of noncitizen parents who aren't legally in the US or who are in the country on temporary visas.

Trump's war against birthright citizenship

Birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that anyone born on US soil and subject to its jurisdiction is automatically an American citizen, irrespective of the immigration status of their parents.

Republicans, including President Trump, have long opposed birthright citizenship, arguing that it encourages illegal immigration into the US. The Maryland court order comes hours after it was reported that the Trump administration proposed changes, requiring parents and legal guardians to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status when applying for US passports for their children in an effort to restrict birthright citizenship.

MENAFN02092026007365015876ID1111614904