A federal judge in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday preventing the Trump administration from enforcing its newly revised executive order aimed at restricting birth tourism, dealing another legal setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to change how immigration authorities handle foreign nationals who enter the United States to give birth.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to restrict birth tourism has been blocked by a federal court, with a Biden-appointed judge issuing a preliminary injunction Wednesday against enforcement of the administration’s newly revised executive order.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, granted the injunction at the request of immigrant-rights advocates who had previously challenged Trump’s earlier effort involving birthright citizenship.
The ruling comes only weeks after Trump signed two new executive orders addressing birthright citizenship and birth tourism following a Supreme Court decision against his administration’s earlier birthright-citizenship initiative.
Trump responded to that Supreme Court setback by restructuring his approach and focusing one of the new orders specifically on foreign nationals who enter the United States on temporary visas for the purpose of giving birth.
During the Oval Office signing, Trump called the earlier Supreme Court decision “very, very unfortunate” and said his administration was adapting its policy in response.
“So we’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair,” Trump said.
Trump argued that the constitutional principle underlying birthright citizenship had been distorted far beyond its historical purpose.
“This was done right after the Civil War. This was for the babies of slaves, and what’s happening now, people are building businesses around it,” Trump said. “Wealthy people are building businesses around birthright citizenship. That’s not the way it was supposed to work. It’s a disgrace. They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen.”
Boardman’s Wednesday order temporarily prevents the administration from implementing the revised policy while the legal challenge proceeds.
Reuters reported:
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a new executive order limiting the number of people eligible for birthright citizenship that President Donald Trump issued after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his previous effort.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, issued a preliminary injunction at the request of immigrant rights advocates who had last year secured a ruling from her blocking the Trump administration from enforcing his initial 2025 executive order curtailing birthright citizenship.
The administration’s revised birth-tourism order takes a different approach from simply declaring certain U.S.-born children ineligible for citizenship.
Instead, it directs the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to use immigration and visa authorities against foreign nationals who seek temporary admission to the United States specifically to give birth on American soil.
The order defines “birth tourism” as either a foreign national entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth or another foreign national helping facilitate such entry.
It also authorizes the secretaries of State and Homeland Security to take actions that could include denying visas, preventing entry, revoking travel authorization, permanently barring certain individuals from returning to the United States and taking action against organizations or people accused of facilitating birth-tourism operations.
Trump’s order describes the practice as an abuse of temporary visa categories and argues that organized birth-tourism businesses coach foreign nationals to misrepresent their reasons for traveling to the United States.
The complete executive order states:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. United States citizenship is among the greatest inheritances the Nation can bestow. It embodies a sacred bond between the American people and the Nation in which they live, and carries profound rights, privileges, and responsibilities reflective of the enduring allegiance of citizens to the United States and our Constitution. Citizenship is not a commodity to be acquired through calculated exploitation and evasion of the immigration laws, such as by entering the United States on a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth within the Nation’s borders.
Birth tourism operators use deceptive advertisements and inducements to entice foreign nationals to travel to the United States for the purpose of giving birth on American soil. They promise citizenship; access to public benefits; and short-term stays in specialized facilities, hotels, or rentals, but often fail to deliver on these promises. These operators coach their clients to misrepresent the purpose and duration of their travel to consular and border officials to obtain visas authorizing entry into the United States. Failure to appropriately combat these schemes has resulted in thriving industries around the world that profit by enabling the evasion of American immigration laws to obtain citizenship and other immigration benefits for foreign visitors, and the exploitation of the women who travel here for purposes of giving birth.
The immigration laws of the United States establish discrete categories of temporary nonimmigrant visas to allow foreign visitors into the United States for study, exchange, temporary employment, tourism, and other transitory activities that are now exploited by birth tourism operators. Participants in birth tourism schemes abuse these categories to establish a permanent foothold in the United States by securing the advantage of citizenship for their children and then potentially for themselves.
Birth tourism, defined in section 3 of this order, undermines the integrity of the Nation’s immigration system by enabling foreign nationals to exploit their temporary admission to obtain permanent immigration-related benefits. Birth tourism also diverts limited consular inspection and enforcement resources away from legitimate visa applicants, erodes public confidence in the faithful enforcement of the immigration laws, and impairs the executive branch’s ability to protect the national security.
The United States has a compelling interest in ensuring that each visa category is used only for the purpose for which it was established. Foreign nationals seeking temporary admission into the United States must adhere to the purposes for which the Congress has authorized their temporary admission, and cannot be permitted to circumvent the immigration laws in an attempt to vest themselves and their children with lasting benefits that are irreconcilable with their nonimmigrant status.
It is therefore the policy of the United States to promote the integrity of its immigration system, to ensure that nonimmigrant visa classifications are used only for their lawful and intended purposes, and to prevent the exploitation of those classifications by persons engaging in birth tourism.
Sec. 2. Authorities. Pursuant to section 301 of title 3, United States Code, the authority granted to the President under section 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1185(a), is hereby delegated to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to the extent necessary to implement this order, including the authority to issue or adopt rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance to carry out this order.
Sec. 3. Definition. For purposes of this order, “birth tourism” is defined as:
(a) the entry of any foreign national into the United States via a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil; or
(b) any effort by any foreign national to facilitate the entry of any foreign national into the United States via a nonimmigrant visa for the purpose of giving birth on American soil.
Sec. 4. Scope and Implementation. (a) The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take such actions and update any rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance as necessary to effectuate the policy set forth in this order. Such actions may include, within the Secretaries’ respective discretion and authority, appropriate action to prevent the entry into the United States of, or the granting of any visa or other travel authorization to, any alien entering or attempting to enter the United States for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism; revoking the visa or travel authorization and permanently barring entry of any alien who enters or attempts to enter the United States for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism; denial of entry to, or removal of, any alien who previously engaged or plans to engage in birth tourism; or other appropriate action against entities, organizations, or individuals, within or outside of the United States, responsible for facilitating or enabling birth tourism in any manner.
(b) All other relevant executive departments and agencies shall provide such records and information as are necessary for the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement the terms of this order and the rules, policies, operational guidance, or other guidance issued pursuant to it, subject to applicable law.
Sec. 5. Exemptions. Notwithstanding the restrictions imposed by this order, the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security may exempt a foreign national from actions taken pursuant to this order on humanitarian grounds or when the foreign national’s entry is in the national interest, as determined by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
(d) If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstances, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of any of its other provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
(e) The costs for publication of this order shall be borne by the Department of Homeland Security.
The order’s language makes clear that the administration sought to place much of the enforcement emphasis at the point of visa issuance and admission rather than solely on the citizenship status of a child after birth.
It argues that temporary visa categories exist for defined purposes such as tourism, study, exchange programs and employment, and that deliberately entering under one of those classifications to secure citizenship for a child represents an abuse of the immigration system.
The policy also directs federal agencies to share records and other information necessary for State and Homeland Security officials to enforce the restrictions.
At the same time, Trump included exemptions allowing either secretary to permit entry on humanitarian grounds or when admission is determined to serve the national interest.
The order also contains a severability provision intended to preserve its remaining sections if a court invalidates one portion.
Wednesday’s injunction represents the latest chapter in a continuing legal battle over Trump’s attempts to change federal policy surrounding birthright citizenship and the practice of foreign nationals traveling to the United States to give birth.
Boardman had previously ruled against the administration’s initial 2025 birthright-citizenship order, and immigrant-rights advocates returned to her court after Trump issued the revised measure.
The administration maintains that the new order is designed to enforce the intended purposes of nonimmigrant visas and prevent organized businesses from exploiting U.S. immigration law.
Opponents argue that Trump’s broader birthright-citizenship policies exceed presidential authority and conflict with existing constitutional and statutory protections.
For now, Boardman’s preliminary injunction prevents the administration from enforcing the latest order while the dispute continues through the federal courts, leaving Trump’s renewed effort to curb birth tourism facing another major judicial challenge.
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