Federal Judge Blocks President Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

Quick Hits

• Nationwide preliminary injunction issued: U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman blocked President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, citing constitutional conflicts and long-standing legal precedent.
• Temporary relief granted: The injunction, brought by five undocumented pregnant women and two immigrant rights groups, provides temporary relief while the lawsuit proceeds, with the administration expected to appeal the decision.

In a significant development, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on February 5, 2025, blocking President Trump’s executive order, titled, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.” The executive order sought to make children born on American soil on or after February 19, 2025, ineligible for U.S. citizenship if they were born to parents who were either unlawfully present in or temporary visitors to the United States. The president signed the executive order on January 20, 2025, the day he took office.

Judge Boardman’s ruling stated that President Trump’s executive order conflicted with the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and contradicted more than one hundred years of binding Supreme Court precedent, as well as the United States’ 250-year history of birthright citizenship. Unlike the fourteen-day temporary restraining order issued on January 23, 2025, by Judge John Coughenour of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, today’s preliminary injunction will remain in effect until the lawsuit is resolved or the injunction is overturned by a higher court.

The lawsuit in Maryland was brought by five undocumented pregnant women and two nonprofit organizations that work with immigrants, who argued that the executive order would cause irreparable harm by denying citizenship rights to their children.

Judge Boardman emphasized that “citizenship is a most precious right” guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, noting the instability, uncertainty, and “irreparable harm” the executive order would create for affected families across the country. The injunction will remain in place while the lawsuit proceeds, though the Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.

Next Steps

As legal challenges to the executive order continue across the country—including challenges brought by twenty-two state attorneys general—it is likely that the matter will eventually reach the Supreme Court. For now, Judge Boardman’s ruling provides a reprieve for those affected by the executive order, reaffirming the constitutional right of citizenship by birth and through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Ogletree Deakins’ Immigration Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will publish updates on the Immigration blog as additional information becomes available.

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