A federal district judge in Maryland ruled against the Trump administration’s latest Executive orderA directive from the President to federal agencies and officials about how to run the executive branch and carry out the law. Executive orders are numbered and published in the Federal Register, and they generally bind the executive branch.See it in the glossary attempting to narrow birthright citizenship, marking another judicial setback for the policy.
What the ruling does
The order sought to limit automatic U.S. citizenship for children born on U.S. soil to certain categories of parents, a direct challenge to the longstanding reading of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. The Maryland court found against the administration’s attempt to implement that limit.
What is still unresolved
The ruling is one of several district-level decisions the administration has faced on this executive order since it was first issued. An appeal is expected, and the underlying question is likely to keep moving through the courts.
This post will be updated as more detail on the court’s reasoning and next procedural steps becomes available.