A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday blocked President Trump's latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that his narrowed August executive order almost certainly violates the 14th Amendment — the fourth time a court has halted a version of the policy since Trump returned to office.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, appointed by President Biden, issued a 35-page opinion finding the order's targets — children of people she said the administration labeled "alien enemies," foreign government employees, or participants in so-called birth tourism — "is almost certainly unconstitutional" as applied to the plaintiffs. She called the administration's legal theory "unprecedented."

The August order was itself a retreat. Trump's original 2025 order sought to end birthright citizenship broadly for children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders, but the Supreme Court blocked that version in June, citing the Citizenship Clause. The White House then narrowed its target list to three smaller categories before trying again in August — an approach Boardman's ruling says fares no better.

Who brought the case

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a certified class of affected families by CASA Inc., the Maryland-based immigrant advocacy nonprofit that has led earlier challenges to Trump's citizenship orders. Boardman's injunction bars federal agencies from enforcing the August order against class members nationwide, though she is allowing agencies to keep drafting internal guidance on how a policy might eventually be carried out if it survives appeal.

"This is just another ruling from an activist judge appointed by Biden attempting to thwart President Trump's commonsense agenda," a White House spokesperson said in response to the ruling.

Attorney General Pam Bondi's deputy, Todd Blanche, was more measured, telling reporters the outcome "is not something that is a surprise to us" and that the Justice Department would keep fighting — "if we have to go back to the Supreme Court, we will."

Legal groups tracking the case say the ruling underscores how narrow the administration's room to maneuver has become after the Supreme Court's June decision. Boardman's opinion leans heavily on that precedent, arguing the 14th Amendment's guarantee applies regardless of how the excluded categories are carved up.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal to the 4th Circuit, and both sides anticipate the fight eventually returns to the Supreme Court for a definitive ruling on whether any carve-out to birthright citizenship can survive constitutional review. For now, every child covered by the class action keeps automatic citizenship at birth, exactly as before the administration's August order.