US judge declines to block Trump's second birthright citizenship order
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A US federal judge declined on Friday to immediately block President Donald Trump's second executive order restricting birthright citizenship. Judge Deborah Boardman instructed immigrant rights advocates to revise their lawsuit to address the new order directly. The decision is a temporary setback for plaintiffs challenging the August 6 order.
Key Facts
- Judge Deborah Boardman, a Biden appointee, declined to immediately approve a preliminary injunction against Trump's second birthright citizenship order.
- Trump issued the new executive order on August 6, 2026, after the Supreme Court struck down his initial attempts to limit birthright citizenship.
- Boardman instructed the plaintiffs—a coalition of immigrant families and advocacy groups—to revise their lawsuit to address the latest executive order directly.
- In 2025, Boardman was one of several judges who approved preliminary injunctions blocking Trump's first birthright citizenship order, declaring it unlawful.
Court Ruling
District Court Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, declined to immediately approve the preliminary injunction despite expressing concern about Trump's new order. Boardman said of the order, "As far as I can tell, this is unprecedented." She instructed the plaintiffs to address the latest executive order directly in their lawsuit, which is a continuation of an ongoing fight over birthright citizenship. Boardman indicated she would schedule a briefing once a revised complaint was filed, to consider the restraining order again.
Legal Background
Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War. The amendment guarantees that nearly all children born on US soil receive citizenship, regardless of their parents' nationality or immigration status. In the 19th-century case United States v Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruled that an American man born to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco could not have his citizenship denied. The amendment declares that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
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US judge declines to block Trump's second birthright citizenship order
