A federal court has put the brakes on the executive order pushed by President Donald Trump to restrict birth tourism. With the executive order failing to clear the court even after a renewed attempt following the Supreme Court’s ruling of unconstitutionality, the legal battle over birthright citizenship is expected to intensify once again. On the 2nd, Judge Deborah Boardman of the Maryland U.S. Court granted a preliminary injunction filed by immigrant rights groups against the Trump administration to suspend the enforcement of the executive order restricting birth tourism.
The executive order that was halted this time was a revised plan issued with a narrowed scope after the Supreme Court previously ruled that the push to abolish birthright citizenship was unconstitutional. The core of the plan was to restrict the automatic granting of citizenship to specific cases, such as entry for the purpose of birth tourism or acquiring citizenship through commercial transactions. However, the court determined that this too lacked a constitutional basis.
In his ruling, Judge Boardman stated the reason for his decision, saying, “The Supreme Court’s precedent that a child born on U.S. territory is a U.S. citizen at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, is clear,” and added, “Even if the administration changed the specific requirements to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling, it is highly likely to be unconstitutional.” The government countered that “the lawsuit itself is premature as the implementation guidelines for the executive order have not been finalized,” but the court rejected this argument, noting that “the legal uncertainty and harm to the parties would be severe merely by the issuance of the executive order.”
With this decision, the effect of the executive order has been immediately suspended, and enforcement will be completely halted until the outcome of the substantive lawsuit is determined. The Department of Justice immediately objected to the ruling and announced its intention to appeal. Consequently, the conflict between the executive and judicial branches over birthright citizenship is expected to be finally settled once again by the Supreme Court.