Judge cements block on Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship

GREENBELT, Md. — A federal judge Wednesday furthered a block of President Trump’s executive order preventing the children of migrants without legal status from receiving birthright citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman at the conclusion of a hearing in Greenbelt said Trump’s order “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth” and likely violates an 1898 Supreme Court decision on the issue.

“The United States Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment,” Boardman said. “In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president's interpretation. This court will not be the first.”

A separate federal judge in Seattle previously put Trump’s executive order on hold. But that ruling will expire Thursday, when that judge will hold another hearing.

Boardman’s ruling, unless overturned by an appeals court, will remain intact until she can issue a final ruling on the merits of the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, which is likely to take months.

Trump on his first day in office signed the executive order narrowing birthright citizenship so that it doesn’t extend to children born on U.S. soil to parents without permanent legal status, beginning with babies born Feb. 19. It is part of a flurry of immigration actions Trump has taken during his first few weeks in office.

Eric Hamilton, deputy assistant attorney general for the civil division, insisted at the hearing that the Trump administration’s position aligned with the 1898 Supreme Court precedent central to the case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

“We have not taken a position that Wong Kim Ark is bad law. We think it is consistent with the rule that we have laid out for the Citizenship Clause,” Hamilton said.

But Boardman rejected that notion and said a ruling blocking Trump’s order nationwide was necessary to protect the public interest.

“Today, virtually every baby born on U.S. soil is a citizen upon birth. That is the law and tradition of our country. That law and tradition will remain the status quo pending the resolution of this case,” said Boardman, an appointee of former President Biden.

“The government will not be harmed by a preliminary injunction that prevents it from enforcing an executive order likely to be found unconstitutional,” she added.

Wednesday’s proceeding in Maryland is the first in a blitz of hearings set to take place across the country over the next week in most of the nine lawsuits challenging Trump’s birthright citizenship order.

The case in Maryland was brought by two immigrant rights organizations and five anonymous expecting mothers without permanent legal status. The other cases involve 22 Democratic state attorneys general, the American Civil Liberties Union and Santa Clara County, Calif., among other groups.

The challengers emphasize that the courts have only recognized few exceptions to the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship guarantee for all people born on U.S. soil: children of diplomats, people born on foreign ships, children of enemies in hostile occupation and Native American tribe members.

“Generations of children have grown up with that promise,” Joseph Mead, special litigation counsel at Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, which is representing the Maryland challengers, said at Wednesday’s hearing.

Updated at 11:45 a.m. EST

Topics

Judge Blocks Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order

The nationwide injunction, from a Maryland case, is more permanent than last month’s restraining order from a judge in Seattle.
The New York Times - 27m
What happens next after judge blocks Trump order to cancel birthright citizenship

The judge who blocked President Trump's order to end birthright citizenship has put a 14-day restraining order in place while the Justice Department has vowed to "vigorously defend President ...
CBS News - Jan. 24
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship

A federal judge in Seattle has signed a temporary restraining order blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.
ABC News - Jan. 23
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's birthright citizenship executive order

A federal judge in Seattle granted a request for a temporary restraining order sought by four states to block Trump's executive order against birthright citizenship.
CBS News - Jan. 23
Federal district court judge temporarily blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order

A federal district court judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship — the first action in what promises to be a protracted legal ...
NBC News - Jan. 23
Seattle judge blocks Trump order ending birthright citizenship

A Seattle judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to mothers who are in the country unlawfully or ...
NBC News - Jan. 23
US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship

Executive order signed by Trump, which was to take effect on 19 February, is already the subject of five lawsuits . A federal judge in Seattle blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from ...
The Guardian - Jan. 23
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's birthright citizenship executive order

The federal judge in Seattle who heard an argument against President Trump's birthright citizenship executive order has temporarily blocked the measure and called it "blatantly unconstitutional." ...
CBS News - Jan. 23
Court temporarily blocks Trump order on birthright citizenship

A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship for the children of many migrants, a major hit to one of the president’s Day 1 orders. Trump's ...
The Hill - Jan. 23