A U.S. federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction on September 2 or 3, 2026, blocking enforcement of President Donald Trump’s August 6 executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship nationwide for a certified class of plaintiffs [1, 2, 3, 4].
The order sought to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to certain foreign nationals, including those involved in "birth tourism," commercial arrangements to obtain citizenship, "alien enemies," and foreign government employees [1, 2, 3, 4].
Judge Deborah Boardman ruled the order is "almost certainly unconstitutional" because the Supreme Court’s June 2026 decision in Barbara v Trump affirmed birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. She said the latest order "attempts to strip the right to citizenship" from children the court already protected and must be preliminarily enjoined again [1, 3].
The injunction bars government agencies including the State, Justice, and Homeland Security Departments from denying citizenship to members of the certified class. A district court order stated authorities are "barred from taking any other action to interfere with, deny, or fail to recognize the citizenship of any member of the certified class" [1, 4].
The Trump administration may still issue public guidance on certain sections of the policy despite the injunction [3, 4].
Birthright citizenship grants automatic citizenship to nearly anyone born on U.S. soil, as established by Supreme Court rulings such as U.S. v Wong Kim Ark. The June Barbara v Trump ruling rejected Trump’s earlier effort to restrict it in a 6-3 vote [1, 4].
Trump has made reforming birthright citizenship a key part of his immigration stance, arguing children of temporary or undocumented immigrants should not automatically qualify [1, 3].
The legal battle is expected to return to the Supreme Court, with the Justice Department likely seeking to lift the injunction through appeals [2].
