Trump’s New Birthright Citizenship Order Blocked By US Federal Judge

President Donald Trump’s renewed push to restrict birthright citizenship has suffered another legal setback after a federal judge temporarily blocked his latest executive order targeting citizenship for some children born in the United States.

The ruling came on September 2, 2026, just weeks after the US Supreme Court rejected Trump’s broader attempt to end birthright citizenship. The latest decision marks another chapter in Trump’s long-running battle over who qualifies for US citizenship.

Trump began his latest push on January 20, 2025, his first day back in office, when he signed an executive order seeking to deny citizenship to certain children born on US soil. The policy was immediately challenged, and federal judges blocked it before the dispute reached the Supreme Court.

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s broader birthright citizenship policy, focusing on the 14th Amendment, which states that people born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are US citizens.

Trump tried again on August 6, signing two new executive orders. One targeted what his administration calls “birth tourism,” while the other sought to restrict citizenship for specific categories of children, including cases involving certain foreign government employees and people classified as “alien enemies.”

Trump defended the move, arguing that birthright citizenship was intended for a different historical context and accusing wealthy foreigners of building businesses around it. His administration said the new orders addressed historically recognised exceptions, including children of foreign diplomats and alien enemies.

The White House also argued that birth tourism involves people entering the US as tourists primarily to give birth, allowing their children to obtain citizenship.

However, a Maryland federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the latest order, finding that the challengers were likely to succeed in showing that it violates the 14th Amendment. The judge also pointed to the Supreme Court’s June ruling as controlling law.

The Trump administration maintains that the Supreme Court left room for limited exceptions and is expected to continue defending the policy in court.

For now, Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birthright citizenship is blocked, but the legal battle over American citizenship remains far from over.