US federal court blocks Trump’s latest bid to restrict birthright citizenship

WASHINGTON: A US federal judge on Wednesday (local time) blocked President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, partially halting an executive order issued after the US Supreme Court struck down his broader effort to end the practice last year, CNN reported.

According to CNN, US District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled that the Trump administration cannot enforce the new, narrower policy while allowing federal agencies to continue preparing guidance on how the policy would be implemented.

In an opinion accompanying the preliminary injunction, Boardman said the latest policy was likely unconstitutional under the US Supreme Court’s ruling this summer that rejected Trump’s earlier attempt to end birthright citizenship.

The judge’s order applies to the certified class of legal challengers in the case, covering children who would have been denied citizenship under Trump’s first executive order. “If not enjoined as to the class, the 2026 Executive Order could deny the right to citizenship by birth to children whom the Supreme Court declared were citizens,” Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, wrote in her opinion, as quoted by CNN.

UPDATE: The same federal judge who declined to block Trump’s revised birthright-citizenship order last week has now halted it after challengers amended their lawsuit.

Judge Deborah Boardman barred the administration from enforcing the new restrictions while the case proceeds.… https://t.co/pRee6c4jSh pic.twitter.com/sxmawsEYnZ

— NewsForce (@Newsforce) September 2, 2026

Trump’s latest executive action, issued in August, sought to tighten existing rules and narrow recognised exceptions to birthright citizenship, a principle under the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to people born on US soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Under the new order, federal agencies would not recognise the citizenship of children whose parents are not US citizens if either parent is “an alien enemy”, “a foreign government employee”, or involved in so-called birth tourism.

The latest legal challenge follows Trump’s broader effort to curb birthright citizenship, which has been a key feature of his second-term immigration agenda, as reported by CNN.

Immediately after returning to office last year, Trump issued an executive order seeking to deny citizenship to babies born in the United States to parents who were unlawfully present in the country or visiting under temporary status.

The Supreme Court rejected that order this summer, finding it unconstitutional. Trump subsequently issued the narrower executive action that is now being challenged in court. A separate case challenging the new policy is also pending in New Hampshire, as per CNN. (ANI)