Donald Trump's birthright citizenship order blocked nationwide; judge says ‘no court in the country ever endorsed this’

A US court has put on hold an executive order by President Donald Trump aiming to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States. Maryland District Judge Deborah Boardman said that  "citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution," and emphasised that "only a nationwide injunction will provide complete relief to the plaintiffs." 

This nationwide preliminary injunction provides more extended relief than a previous temporary hold by a federal judge in Seattle

Judge Boardman, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, ruled that Trump's interpretation of the 14th Amendment has been "resoundingly rejected" by the Supreme Court in the past. She stated, "In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president's interpretation. This court will not be the first." 

Trump's order, which was signed on his first day back in office, sought to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents were neither citizens nor lawful residents.

The case in Maryland is among several lawsuits filed across the country challenging Trump's order. Boardman's ruling emphasised that the order "conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent and runs counter to our nation's 250-year history of citizenship by birth." The 14th Amendment, ratified post-Civil War, ensures citizenship for those born in the United States, a principle that has been upheld for over a century. 

Opponents of Trump's order, including 22 states and various organisations, have argued that the executive action causes "real-world harm for countless people today" as citizenship is "the foundation for so many other rights." They maintain that the "principle of birthright citizenship is a foundation of our national democracy, is woven throughout the laws of our nation, and has shaped a shared sense of national belonging for generation after generation of citizens." 

While the Trump administration contends that the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted, 18 Republican attorneys general are seeking to defend the order in one of the federal suits. 

However, Judge Boardman's decision reflects a broader consensus in the legal community that the Constitution's citizenship clause applies to all children born on US soil, regardless of their parents' immigration status. The future of Trump's order remains uncertain as further hearings are scheduled in multiple states.