Birthright citizenship class action heads to court: What to know

A federal judge in New Hampshire will decide whether Trump's birthright citizenship ban will be blocked nationwide.

People demonstrate outside the Supreme Court on Thursday May 15, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

New Hampshire has first-in-the-nation status every presidential primary season. Now, a federal judge here may be the first to decide the reach of Trump’s birthright citizenship ban.

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Concord, N.H. (ARN) — A Honduran woman living here in New Hampshire with her husband and three children will be at the center of a critical question in U.S. constitutional history: Is a federal judge powerless to act more than locally after a U.S. president purports to rewrite a constitutional amendment through an executive order?

The woman, identified in court papers only as Barbara, is an asylum seeker expecting the birth of her fourth child in October.

For more than 125 years, Barbara’s soon-to-be-born child would have clearly been considered a citizen under the first sentence of the 14th Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The Supreme Court ratified the clear meaning of those words in the 1898 case of Wong Kim Ark, a rejection of the last challenge to birthright citizenship.

On Inauguration Day of this year, Donald Trump issued an executive order professing to override that understanding of birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment as ratified in the wake of the Civil War. Three federal judges have ruled that Trump’s order is unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court never found otherwise in their ruling all but abolishing nationwide injunctions.

The key question remaining is whether all other mothers in Barbara’s position must go to court individually to protect their newborns’ rights of citizenship — or whether class action lawsuits can vindicate their rights universally.

The answer must come soon: If not blocked within weeks, Trump’s birthright citizenship ban will become effective on July 27.

Before today’s hearing, All Rise News provides a guide answering the major questions that you may have.

Below the paywall:

This Q&A answers questions about the judge, the plaintiffs, the class that they represent, their legal team, and why this case is in New Hampshire.