What Are the Rules for U.S. Birthright Citizenship Right Now?

President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship is once again frozen by a federal judge’s nationwide injunction, preventing the administration from enforcing the policy in any of the 50 states.

The Supreme Court had previously ruled that the federal government could only enforce the order in the 28 states that have not challenged it in court, while it remains blocked in the other 22 states.

Thursday’s decision from the U.S. District Court for New Hampshire allows civil rights groups to move forward with a class-action lawsuit on behalf of newborn babies affected by executive order. While the Supreme Court has limited the power of district judges to stop executive orders nationwide, it still allows this type of injunction in class action cases.

• Jump to: Expecting a baby? What you should know now

“Having a patchwork system of birthright citizenship would be totally unworkable,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus, one of the organizations that presented the lawsuit. “It would turn doctors and nurses into immigration agents. It would be really expensive to administer. It would create a lot of confusion and fear.”

Trump’s executive order would deny U.S. citizenship to babies born in the country to parents without permanent legal status, but the Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling created a split: a baby born to undocumented parents in California — which sued the federal government over the policy — would be entitled to citizenship, while a baby born to a family with similar circumstances in Texas — which has not challenged the executive order — could be denied citizenship.

But this latest injunction blocks the executive order from taking effect in any state, guaranteeing birthright citizenship for now to babies born to immigrant parents without permanent legal status.

“What parents need to know is that they are protected for now,” said Kohli, who added that she expects another legal battle that could end up in the Supreme Court. “We’re in this for the long haul.”

Keep reading to understand the latest rules on U.S. birthright citizenship.

Who does Trump’s birthright citizenship order affect now?

On Jan. 20, Trump signed an executive order declaring that the federal government will no longer grant documents that confirm citizenship, like a Social Security Number or passport, to children born on or after Feb. 19, 2025, who are in the following situations:

• At the time of birth, the baby’s biological mother is “unlawfully present” (with no legal status) in the U.S. and the biological father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
• At the time of birth, the baby’s biological mother was in the U.S. with a temporary visa or permit, and the biological father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

The text of the executive order is written in legal language that can be difficult for the general public to understand. But based on the circumstances the order describes, these are families that could be affected by Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order:

• Families where both parents have no legal immigration documents at the time of their baby’s birth.
• Families where both parents only have a temporary legal status, which could include: Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), H1-B holders, a student J-1 visa or an H-2A visa for agricultural workers, another temporary visa or humanitarian parole. Their baby would not have birthright citizenship.
• If one parent has no legal status and the other only has a temporary legal status, which could include: TPS, DACA, H1-B holders, a student J-1 visa or an H-2A visa for agricultural workers, another temporary visa or humanitarian parole. Their baby would not have birthright citizenship.

On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled the executive order cannot be enforced in the following 22 states, along with the District of Columbia:

• California
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington
• Wisconsin

While in the remaining 28 states, the new birthright citizenship rules were set to begin on July 27. How a patchwork system like this would actually look like in practice has puzzled both legal scholars and future parents.

“There’d be a lot of chaos with government agencies, businesses and individuals not even being sure how to comply with the law, even if they want to comply in good faith,” said Ming H. Chen, professor at UC Law San Francisco and faculty-director of the school’s Center for Race, Immigration, Citizenship, and Equality.

“Parents were so concerned, especially in the 28 states that were not party to a lawsuit on birthright citizenship,” said Asian Law Caucus’ Kohli. “People in those states were asking questions like, ‘Should we move in order to ensure that their child is a U.S. citizen?’

But the July 10 ruling from the New Hampshire federal district court blocks the executive order from being enforced anywhere in the country until the class-action lawsuit is resolved.

I’m worried: Is my baby still a US citizen?

The Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling allowed the federal government to enforce the policy in 28 states startingJuly 27. The order is now blocked nationwide as the case moves through the judicial system, with legal experts predicting the fight will make it to the Supreme Court.

At this moment, the federal government will still recognize your baby as a U.S. citizen, regardless of your immigration status or what state the child was born.

Would anyone be stripped of their existing American citizenship with this order?

Trump’s executive order says nothing about taking away the citizenship of people born in the U.S. before Feb. 19, regardless of the immigration status of their parents.

I’m currently expecting a baby. Will they still become a US citizen automatically?

This one’s complicated, as this depends on the future of the class-action lawsuit brought by civil rights groups on behalf of babies impacted by the executive order. Thanks to the July 10 ruling from the New Hampshire district court, the Trump administration must continue to recognize the U.S. citizenship of babies born to immigrant parents without a permanent legal status, regardless of their state of residence.

Once the White House challenges the ruling, the case would next go to a federal appeals court and, potentially, to the Supreme Court.

At the same time, there are still multiple lawsuits against the government over the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order that are making their way through the judicial system. Once those cases reach the Supreme Court, the justices will have the final word on whether the executive order is overturned entirely or enforced nationwide.

Keep in mind, however, that the Supreme Court is currently in recess and will resume hearing cases in October. The July 10 injunction blocking the order nationwide remains in place in the meantime.

A version of this story originally published on June 27, 2025.