RAICES Bulletin: Latest Attack on Birthright Citizenship "Almost Certainly Unconstitutional"
By RAICES Public Affairs Director Javier Hidalgo, Esq.
TL;DR A federal court has blocked the administration's latest executive order attempting to deny birthright citizenship to the children of noncitizens. The court ruled that the new executive order likely violates the Fourteenth Amendment and defies recent Supreme Court precedent.
WHAT TO KNOW
Issue: A federal judge has now blocked President Donald Trump's most recent executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship. The administration sought to deny citizenship to children of noncitizens. The court's injunction prevents the application of this order to children who were born or will be born in the U.S. after February 19, 2025.
Rationale: The court found the new executive order likely infringes upon the Fourteenth Amendment right to citizenship by birth. The judge's decision was anchored in the late June Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which established that children born to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the U.S. are "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States" and are therefore "citizens at birth." That decision struck down the President’s prior executive order attaching birthright citizenship. The court reminds us that "no presidential executive order can undo what the Supreme Court has done."
RAICES Impact: This ruling directly protects the foundational rights of the families RAICES assists. The preliminary injunction ensures that the children of noncitizens cannot be deprived of their constitutional right to citizenship under this executive order. RAICES continues to monitor developing policy threats such as this and educate our client community of the evolving impact.
Community Impact: The ruling provides crucial and immediate protection to a nationwide class of children who would have been targeted by the executive order's attempt to limit birthright citizenship. However, fear and confusion in the community will continue as the administration pursues attempts to alter policy and strip noncitizen families of even their constitutional rights.
Related Legal Battles: This decision is part of the ongoing Casa Inc. et al. v. Trump et al. litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. It directly follows the Supreme Court's late June ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which invalidated an earlier January 2025 executive order by Trump that had also attempted to exclude children of non-citizens from Fourteenth Amendment protections. Judge Boardman previously issued a preliminary injunction barring the enforcement of that 2025 order in August 2025.
Broader Immigration Strategy: By issuing a new order in August just weeks after the Supreme Court invalidated a nearly identical policy in late June, the administration demonstrated a willingness to flout the highest court in the nation by attempting to insert its own manufactured exceptions into the Fourteenth Amendment. This ongoing legal maneuvering highlights a persistent administrative effort to challenge established constitutional rights, bypass judicial precedent, and foster a hostile environment of legal instability for asylum seekers and immigrant communities.
