UPDATE: Federal Court Blocks Enforcement of New Birthright Citizenship Order Against Certified Class
A significant new development in the ongoing litigation over birthright citizenship:
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland issued a preliminary injunction preventing the federal government from enforcing Executive Order 14418 against members of the existing certified birthright citizenship class.
The August 6 Order seeks to create several new exceptions to birthright citizenship. Significantly for the surrogacy community, it expressly includes circumstances involving a “commercial transaction with a surrogate” in the United States when neither parent is a U.S. citizen.
A preliminary injunction is considered an extraordinary remedy. To obtain one, the party seeking relief must establish that it is likely to succeed on the merits, likely to suffer irreparable harm without preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in its favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.
Applying that standard, Judge Boardman concluded that EO 14418 is “almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the certified class,” pointing to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 30, 2026 decision in Trump v. Barbara, which held that the children within that class are U.S. citizens at birth.
The injunction prohibits federal agencies from enforcing or applying EO 14418 against members of the certified class, or from interfering with, denying, or failing to recognize their citizenship while the litigation proceeds.
What does this mean for international families pursuing surrogacy in the United States?
This is an important development, particularly because EO 14418 expressly reaches certain U.S. surrogacy arrangements. But the scope of the ruling should be understood carefully.
The court did not strike down EO 14418 in its entirety, nor did it separately hold that every child born through U.S. surrogacy to foreign intended parents necessarily falls within the protected class. The injunction protects children who are members of the previously certified class.
Federal agencies may also continue developing implementation guidance under the Order while the litigation proceeds.
Separate litigation concerning EO 14418 and EO 14419 remains pending, and IFLG continues to monitor these developments closely.