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.