Latest news with #DeborahBoardman
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge again blocks ban on birthright citizenship, extends order nationwide
The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, joined demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court on May 15 to protest the Trump administration's effort to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, as justices heard a challenge to the order. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) A federal judge in Maryland ordered a nationwide halt — again — to a Trump administration order that would have denied citizenship to any baby born in the U.S. after February unless at least one of the parents is a citizen. The ruling late Thursday by U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman is the fourth to block President Donald Trump's executive order since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judges around the country had exceeded their authority by issuing nationwide stays. But the justices said lower courts could issue nationwide injunctions if the lawsuits were class-action suits on behalf of all newborns in the U.S. who might be affected by the executive order. Which is what Boardman did Thursday Boardman rejected a request to include parents in the class-action suit. But she identified a nationwide class of children born on U.S. soil who 'unquestionably would be citizens but for the Executive Order,' an order the judge said is 'almost certainly unconstitutional.' She wrote that the plaintiffs — eight undocumented mothers who are pregnant or have children who were born in the U.S. — 'are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim because the Executive Order contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth amendment,' which says that 'all persons' born the U.S. are citizens of the country and of the state in which they were born. While the immigrants would be harmed in the absence of an injunction, Boardman wrote, there would be little harm to the government to temporarily extending the practice of birthright citizenship that has been recognized in the U.S. for well over a century. Boardman rejected the government's argument that she should restrict her injunction just to Maryland. 'That relief must include every child in the United States who is subject to the Executive Order. After all, the Executive Order does not target only children born in Maryland; it seeks to deny citizenship to 'persons born in the United States,'' she wrote. A government attorney declined to comment Friday on the order, and emails seeking comment from the White House were not immediately returned. But immigrant advocates welcomed Boardman's order. 'This is a national issue that affects every single one of us in this country,' said Ama Frimpong, legal director at CASA, which filed suit with the immigrant women. The Maryland suit was one of several around the country that were filed soon after Trump's order on 'Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,' which he issued on Jan. 20, his first day back in office. It claimed that birthright citizenship was never meant to be a universal right, and it said that anyone born after Feb.19 — a month after the order was signed — would be denied citizenship unless one parent was a citizen or permanent legal resident. The order was swiftly challenges and three judges, including Boardman, issued nationwide injunctions to halt the order. When those were upheld on appeal, the government took the case to the Supreme Court, which said a national injunction could only be issued in class-action suit with a legitimate nationwide class of plaintiffs. Within hours of that ruling, attorneys for CASA were back in court, filing paperwork to turn their case into a class-action suit, adding women from North and South Carolina, among other states as plaintiffs. Boardman's approval of a class-action suit, and a national preliminary injunction, comes almost a month after a U.S. District judge in New Hampshire did the same thing. Frimpong called Trump's order 'just a part of the usual fear tactics to make people afraid of what they believe the federal government will do — even though it will never happen because it is blatantly unlawful and unconstitutional.' She said she anticipates that the Trump administration will again appeal the decision, but predicts that the case will go through the ordinary course of litigation. 'What we are looking forward to is, once and for all. putting the issue to bed and our courts making absolutely clear that the 14th Amendment is not up for debate, and it's not up for subjective interpretation,' Frimpong said. 'It is the law and it is going to remain the law.' This report was first published by Maryland Matters , which like NC Newsline, is part of the national States Newsroom network. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: editor@
CBS News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Federal judge issues fourth block of Trump's birthright citizenship order since Supreme Court ruling
A federal judge in Maryland ruled late Thursday that President Trump's administration cannot withhold citizenship from children born to people in the country illegally or temporarily, issuing the fourth court decision blocking the president's birthright citizenship order nationwide since a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's preliminary injunction was expected after the judge said last month she would issue such an order if the case were returned to her by an appeals court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to her later in July. The policy, which has been the subject of a complicated monthslong legal back-and-forth, is currently on hold. Since June, two other district courts, as well as an appellate panel of judges, have also blocked the birthright order nationwide. On the first day of Mr. Trump's second term, he signed an executive order that said people born in the United States should not automatically get citizenship if one parent is undocumented and the other isn't a citizen or green-card holder, or if both parents are in the U.S. on temporary visas. The order directed federal agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents within 30 days to people who fall into those categories. The order drew a flurry of lawsuits, as most legal experts have said the 14th Amendment — which was ratified in 1868 — automatically offers citizenship to virtually everybody born within the U.S., regardless of their parents' immigration status, with extremely narrow exceptions. The Trump administration argues the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment does not apply to people whose parents are in the country illegally or temporarily — citing a clause that says citizenship is granted to those who are "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. Those parents do not necessarily have "allegiance" to the country, the government argues, so they therefore aren't "subject to the jurisdiction." Boardman, in February, issued a preliminary injunction blocking the order nationwide. But the June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upended that decision and other court rulings blocking the order across the nation. The high court's ruling in June limited the use of nationwide injunctions. In a 6-3 decision, it granted a request by the administration to narrow the injunctions against the birthright citizenship order, but "only to the extent that the injunctions are broader than necessary to provide complete relief." That doesn't mean the birthright citizenship order will take effect. Shortly after the ruling, a New Hampshire court paused the executive order nationwide in a lawsuit that was brought as a class action, after the Supreme Court's decision left the door open to that option. The Supreme Court also did not directly address whether states can still sue over the order. In the case that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled on in July, the government has argued that courts can just block the birthright citizenship order for residents of the states that sued, rather than issuing a nationwide injunction. But the states argue that would provide them with incomplete relief because people move from state to state. In her ruling Thursday, Boardman certified a class of all children who have been born or will be born in the United States after Feb. 19, 2025, who would be affected by Trump's order. She said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit before her were "extremely likely" to win their argument that the birthright order violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which includes a citizenship clause that says all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, are citizens. They were also likely to suffer irreparable harm if the order went into effect, she Walsh contributed to this report.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Judge blocks Trump's birthright order nationwide in fourth such ruling since Supreme Court decision
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland late Thursday ruled President Donald Trump's administration cannot withhold citizenship from children born to people in the country illegally or temporarily, issuing the fourth court decision blocking the president's birthright citizenship order nationwide since a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman's preliminary injunction was expected after the judge said last month she would issue such an order if the case were returned to her by an appeals court. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to her later in July. Since June, two other district courts, as well as an appellate panel of judges, have also blocked the birthright order nationwide. An email to the White House for comment was not immediately returned. Trump's January order would deny citizenship to children born to parents living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. Boardman in February issued a preliminary injunction blocking it nationwide. But the June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upended that decision and other court rulings blocking the order across the nation. The justices ruled that lower courts generally can't issue nationwide injunctions, but they didn't rule out other court orders that could have nationwide effects, including in class-action lawsuits and those brought by states. In her ruling Thursday, Boardman certified a class of all children who have been born or will be born in the United States after February 19, 2025, who would be affected by Trump's order. She said the plaintiffs in the lawsuit before her were 'extremely likely' to win their argument that the birthright order violates the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which includes a citizenship clause that says all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, are citizens. They were also likely to suffer irreparable harm if the order went into effect, she wrote.
Reuters
5 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Fourth court blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order nationwide
August 7(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship was blocked nationwide by a fourth court on Thursday, after a judge issued an injunction in a class action covering children born anywhere in the United States who would be affected by it. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, sided with immigrant rights advocates who asked her to halt Trump's order, marking the latest decision to show the limits of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed the ability of judges to block his directive and other policies nationwide. Trump's executive order, which he issued on his first day back in office on January 20, directs agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder. It was swiftly challenged in court by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and immigrant rights advocates who argued it violates the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, long been understood to recognize that virtually anyone born in the United States is a citizen. Every court to address the merits of order have agreed, and three judges including Boardman earlier this year halted nationwide the enforcement of the policy, which is part of the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda. The 6-3 conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court on June 27 sided with the administration by restricting the ability of judges to issue so-called universal injunctions and directing lower courts that had blocked Trump's policy nationally to reconsider the scope of their orders. But the ruling contained exceptions, allowing federal judges in New Hampshire and Massachusetts and the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to issue decisions stopping Trump's citizenship order from taking effect nationally. The Supreme Court's ruling notably held out the possibility that a lower court judge could halt a federal policy across the country if it was challenged in a class action on behalf of a nationwide group. Immigrant rights advocates seized on that holding and launched two proposed class actions that same day, including the one before Boardman, who had earlier in the same case concluded in February that Trump's order was likely unconstitutional. Boardman, an appointee of Democratic President Joe Biden, in her February decision said Trump's order interpreted the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment "in a manner that the Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected and no court in the country has ever endorsed." Boardman in a July 16 opinion said she would once again block the policy nationally by granting children class action status at the request of groups including CASA and Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. But she did not immediately do so, saying because her original decision was still on appeal, she would need the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to return the case to her. It did so recently by dismissing the Trump administration's appeal. The case is Casa Inc. et al v. Trump, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, No. 8:25-cv-00201. For the plaintiffs: Joseph Mead of Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and Conchita Cruz of Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. For the United States: Brad Rosenberg of the U.S. Department of Justice Read more: US judge reaffirms nationwide injunction blocking Trump executive order on birthright citizenship US appeals court blocks Trump's order curtailing birthright citizenship Judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order after Supreme Court ruling Supreme Court in birthright case limits judges' power to block presidential policies
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge says she would block Trump's birthright citizenship order nationwide
GREENBELT, Md. (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland could soon become the second to block President Donald Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship from taking effect nationwide, if an appeals court were to allow it. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said in an opinion Wednesday that she would grant class action status on behalf of all children affected by the order and grant a preliminary injunction blocking it. But she did not immediately rule, noting a previous decision of hers to block the order was on appeal to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court and that court would have to return the case to her. Boardman said an immediate ruling from her would "promote judicial efficiency and economy because it would enable the Fourth Circuit to consider the merits of a class-wide preliminary injunction sooner rather than later." A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a ruling last week prohibiting Trump's executive order from taking effect nationwide. U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante issued a preliminary injunction and certified a class action lawsuit including all children who will be affected. The order, which followed an hour-long hearing, included a seven-day stay to allow for appeal. The decision put the birthright citizenship issue on a fast track to return to the Supreme Court. The justices could be asked to rule whether the order complies with their decision last month that limited judges' authority to issue nationwide injunctions. The high court said that district judges generally can't issue nationwide, or universal, injunctions. But it didn't rule out whether judges could accomplish it through a class action lawsuit. Trump's January order would deny citizenship to infants born to parents living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily.
