Federal judge issues fourth block of Trump's birthright citizenship order since Supreme Court ruling

Source: CBS News/AP

August 7, 2025 / 10:42 PM EDT


A federal judge in Maryland ruled late Thursday that President Trump's administration cannot withhold citizenship from children born to people in the country illegally or temporarily, issuing the fourth court decision blocking the president's birthright citizenship order nationwide since a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's preliminary injunction was expected after the judge said last month she would issue such an order if the case were returned to her by an appeals court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to her later in July.

The policy, which has been the subject of a complicated monthslong legal back-and-forth, is currently on hold. Since June, two other district courts, as well as an appellate panel of judges, have also blocked the birthright order nationwide. On the first day of Mr. Trump's second term, he signed an executive order that said people born in the United States should not automatically get citizenship if one parent is undocumented and the other isn't a citizen or green-card holder, or if both parents are in the U.S. on temporary visas.

The order directed federal agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents within 30 days to people who fall into those categories. The order drew a flurry of lawsuits, as most legal experts have said the 14th Amendment — which was ratified in 1868 — automatically offers citizenship to virtually everybody born within the U.S., regardless of their parents' immigration status, with extremely narrow exceptions.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-block-trump-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court/