A federal judge appointed by Joe Biden has blocked President Donald Trump’s latest effort to crack down on birth tourism, setting up yet another clash between the administration and the judiciary over immigration enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a temporary injunction against Trump’s executive order, which sought to prevent foreign nationals from traveling to the United States specifically to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.
Boardman wrote that the 2026 Executive Order is “almost certainly unconstitutional,” citing a recent Supreme Court decision in a case called Barbara that addressed birthright citizenship. “The Supreme Court has spoken: Children in the certified class are ‘citizens at birth,'” the Maryland judge declared.
The ruling comes just weeks after Trump signed a scaled-down executive order targeting birth tourism. The president had argued his new action was consistent with the Supreme Court’s June decision, which upheld citizenship for anyone born on American soil. Trump’s order focused specifically on ending the practice of foreign nationals entering the country with the express purpose of giving birth.
The White House also pushed back hard against Boardman’s ruling. A spokesperson told the New York Post that the decision represents “just another ruling from an activist judge appointed by Biden attempting to thwart President Trump’s commonsense agenda.”
Birth tourism has long been a concern for immigration hawks and everyday Americans who believe the practice makes a mockery of citizenship. Foreign nationals, often from wealthy families in countries like China and Russia, pay tens of thousands of dollars to travel to the United States in the final weeks of pregnancy. They give birth on American soil, securing citizenship for their children, then return home.
Trump’s executive order represented an attempt to address the issue through enforcement rather than constitutional amendment. The administration argued that denying visas to those seeking entry specifically for birth tourism fell within executive authority over immigration.
The administration is expected to appeal the ruling.
