US: Federal Judge Blocks Trump's New Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
- A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against Trump's latest executive order targeting birthright citizenship
- US District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled the August order was likely unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's own earlier ruling
- The White House condemned the decision as the work of an activist judge, and Attorney General Todd Blanche signalled a return to the Supreme Court
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A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump's latest executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, halting its enforcement while a legal challenge proceeds.
US District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a preliminary injunction on Wednesday against the order Trump signed in August, which represented a narrowed follow-up to his earlier and broader attempt to curtail the constitutional right.
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Boardman, appointed by former President Joe Biden, found the policy was likely unconstitutional in light of the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this summer, which had already struck down Trump's first effort on the same grounds.
What the blocked order sought to do
Trump's August order directed federal agencies to stop recognising the citizenship of children born on US soil if their parents fell into specific categories, including so-called alien enemies, foreign government employees, or individuals engaged in birth tourism.
The administration had framed the measure as a targeted tightening of existing law rather than a sweeping elimination of the right.
Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which grants citizenship to all persons born on American soil regardless of the immigration status of their parents.
In her written opinion, Boardman stated that without an injunction, the order "could deny the right to citizenship by birth to children whom the Supreme Court declared were citizens." Her ruling applies to a certified class of legal challengers comprising children who would have been denied citizenship under the original executive order issued when Trump returned to office.
White House and DOJ push back
The White House responded sharply to the ruling. Spokeswoman Lauren Bis dismissed it as "just another ruling from an activist judge appointed by Biden attempting to thwart President Trump's commonsense agenda," adding that the administration believed its executive order was consistent with the Supreme Court's holdings and analysis.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, speaking on Fox News, said the decision was not unexpected. "We didn't expect this judge to say we were right and so this is not something that is a surprise to us," Blanche said.
He added that the administration was prepared to escalate the matter if necessary: "If we have to go back to the Supreme Court, we will."
While Boardman's order blocks enforcement of the policy, she has permitted agencies to continue developing internal guidance on how the order would be carried out, should it survive further legal scrutiny.
A separate legal challenge to the same executive order is currently pending in New Hampshire, meaning the administration faces opposition on multiple judicial fronts as it pursues one of the defining immigration priorities of Trump's second term.
US revokes 750 visas over birth tourism fraud
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the US had revoked more than 750 visas from foreign nationals as part of an aggressive new campaign targeting birth tourism.
The Department of State has established a Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
