Judge Deborah Boardman has again blocked President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship, issuing a preliminary injunction that halts the August executive order. The move directly challenges the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Trump v. Barbara, which affirmed citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.
Judge Boardman Halts Birthright Citizenship Order
The order, described by The Federalist’s Breccan Thies, clarifies that children of “alien enemies” and foreign government employees are excluded from birthright citizenship, a provision the administration says is not covered by the Supreme Court decision. Trump’s post‑Barbara directive therefore expands the scope of enforcement beyond what the high court allowed.
Boardman, a Biden‑appointed judge based in Maryland, argued that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment rights of the certified class and that the Supreme Court’s prior decision makes the injunction virtually certain to succeed. She wrote that the 2026 executive order is “almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the class.”
In a 35‑page opinion, Boardman granted the plaintiffs’ request to certify a class of affected individuals and reiterated that the court must preliminarily enjoin enforcement of the president’s citizenship‑stripping attempt. The injunction does not bar guidance on implementation, only the denial of citizenship to those the Supreme Court already recognized as citizens.
Justice Samuel Alito, joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, warned in a concurring opinion that lower courts could weaponize class certification to sidestep the Supreme Court’s limitation on nationwide injunctions. Alito’s caution underscores the broader procedural battle over how courts may halt executive actions.
Boardman’s activism resurfaces in her 2022 sentencing of the would‑be assassin of Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who received eight years instead of the recommended 30 after prosecutors cited the defendant’s transgender identity. Prosecutors had urged a minimum of three decades, but Boardman’s leniency sparked criticism and led to calls for accountability.
Representative Chip Roy of Texas introduced impeachment articles against Boardman and a spending amendment to defund her and fellow activist judge James Boasberg, though House Democrats defeated the measure with Republican support. No impeachment proceedings have yet been launched against Boardman, Boasberg, or any other judge accused of bench activism, despite repeated GOP demands for accountability.
