Second US judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order

A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday blocked Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at curtailing birthright citizenship, marking the second legal setback for the administration's immigration policy.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman issued a nationwide preliminary injunction, preventing the order from taking effect as planned on Feb. 19.

Boardman sided with two immigrant rights groups and five pregnant women, who argued that their children could be unconstitutionally denied U.S. citizenship based on their parent's immigration status.

"Today, virtually every baby born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen upon birth," Boardman wrote in her ruling. "That is the law and tradition of our country. That law and tradition are and will remain the status quo pending the resolution of this case."

Her decision follows an earlier 14-day pause issued on Jan. 23 by a federal judge in Seattle, who called Trump's order “blatantly unconstitutional.” That judge, John Coughenour, is set to decide Thursday whether to extend his own injunction.

Trump’s order faces multiple lawsuits

Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order directed U.S. agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Immigrant rights groups CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project challenged the order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which states that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen.

The lawsuit is one of at least eight filed across the country by Democratic state attorneys general, immigrant advocates and expectant mothers seeking to overturn the order.

Trump’s administration is expected to appeal the ruling, setting up a potential Supreme Court showdown over birthright citizenship.