A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born to illegal immigrants, as reported [1] by Fox News.
U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman, presiding in Maryland, ruled Thursday that the immigration rights group CASA had sufficiently demonstrated grounds for a classwide injunction.
The ruling came after the group successfully petitioned for class-action status in its legal challenge to the policy.
Biden-appointed Judge Deborah Boardman, issues a preliminary injunction BLOCKING Trump’s birthright citizenship EO
Since June, two other district courts, as well as an appellate panel of judges, have also blocked the birthright order nationwide.
These judges think they’re the… pic.twitter.com/mNC7mY24ts [2]
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 8, 2025 [3]
In her decision, Boardman wrote:
“The Court finds that the plaintiffs have shown they are entitled to a classwide preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs have established that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim because the Executive Order contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment and conflicts with binding Supreme Court precedent.”
Boardman continued, “The plaintiffs also have shown that the class representatives and members will suffer irreparable harm — the denial of citizenship — without injunctive relief. Finally, the plaintiffs have established that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in favor of a preliminary injunction.”
She added, “The government will not be harmed by an injunction that maintains the status quo of birthright citizenship, and the plaintiffs will be harmed if the Executive Order is not enjoined pending the outcome of this lawsuit.”
President Trump’s executive order was signed on the first day of his second term in January 2025 and directed federal agencies to cease granting citizenship to children born on U.S. soil unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
