October 6, 2025 — Boston, MA — A federal appeals court in Boston delivered a major legal blow to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda on Friday, ruling that his administration cannot deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
The decision from a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marks the fifth time since June that a federal court has blocked or struck down the controversial birthright citizenship order issued by Trump on his first day in office.
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The executive order sought to end automatic U.S. citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders, arguing such citizenship should not be guaranteed.
In its ruling, the Boston court upheld lower courts’ preliminary injunctions that had paused enforcement of the order, siding with plaintiffs who argued that the order violated the Constitution.
The court found that challengers to the policy are likely to succeed on their claims under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
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“This is not a close call,” the panel wrote in its opinion. “The plain text of the 14th Amendment, as well as over a century of Supreme Court precedent, makes clear that children born on U.S. soil — regardless of the immigration status of their parents — are U.S. citizens at birth.”
The Trump administration had argued that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders, a position that has been repeatedly rejected by the courts.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state joined nearly 20 others in suing to block the order, applauded Friday’s ruling.
“This is a victory for the Constitution, for immigrant families, and for the rule of law,” Bonta said in a statement. “The court reaffirmed what has been clear for over 150 years: birthright citizenship is a constitutional right, not a policy decision.”
Legal experts say the decision further cements the legal consensus that birthright citizenship, as enshrined in the 14th Amendment since 1868, cannot be altered by executive action.
Friday’s ruling adds to the growing list of setbacks for Trump’s immigration directives in courtrooms across the country. While the president has vowed to continue fighting the issue, the judicial consensus thus far makes it unlikely that a change in birthright citizenship can occur without a constitutional amendment — a highly improbable political feat.
With multiple lawsuits still pending in other federal circuits, the issue may eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, but for now, birthright citizenship remains intact.
