Federal Judges Deliver Major Blow to Executive Order.In a significant legal setback for former President Donald Trump, a federal appeals court has ruled against the administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, reinforcing long-standing constitutional protections.
On Friday, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s injunction that had previously stopped the administration from enforcing a controversial executive order signed in January. The order aimed to restrict birthright citizenship — the constitutional guarantee that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
In a detailed 100-page opinion, the three-judge panel made it clear that history and precedent were not on the administration’s side:
> “The ‘lessons of history’ thus give us every reason to be wary of now blessing this most recent effort to break with our established tradition of recognizing birthright citizenship and to make citizenship depend on the actions of one’s parents rather than — in all but the rarest of circumstances — the simple fact of being born in the United States,” the court wrote.
The ruling from the Boston-based appeals court marks the fifth time since June that federal judges have struck down or upheld blocks on Trump’s efforts to change birthright citizenship. This latest decision joins a string of legal defeats that have slowed one of the administration’s most ambitious immigration policies since Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
The court also pointed to America’s checkered history with attempts to restrict citizenship rights, citing the infamous Dred Scott decision before the Civil War and the legal battles surrounding the Chinese Exclusion Act in the late 19th century.
> “Our nation’s history of efforts to restrict birthright citizenship … has not been a proud one,” the court’s chief judge wrote.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state was one of 20 involved in challenging the order, praised the decision on social media:
> “Today’s decision upholds a nationwide injunction in our lawsuit challenging the President’s attempt to end, with the stroke of a pen, the constitutional right to birthright citizenship,” Bonta posted on X. “We will continue to oppose this executive order until the President’s attempt to unmake the Constitution is blocked completely.”
The Justice Department has already asked the Supreme Court to review the case, setting up what could become a defining constitutional battle over the scope of presidential power and the meaning of the 14th Amendment.
For now, the appeals court’s decision ensures that the birthright citizenship guarantee remains intact, reaffirming a principle that has shaped America’s identity for generations.