A federal court in New Hampshire has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship and certified a nationwide class to protect the citizenship rights of all children born on U.S. soil.

Judge Joseph LaPlante announced the decision on Thursday, July 10, following a hearing, and confirmed that a written order with a seven-day stay for potential appeal will follow.

The ruling stems from a nationwide class-action lawsuit filed on June 27, shortly after a Supreme Court decision that appeared to open the door for partial enforcement of the order. The lawsuit was brought by several civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund, on behalf of families potentially impacted by the executive order.

The court granted both the request for a preliminary injunction and nationwide class certification, effectively halting the order’s implementation. The government has seven days to seek a stay from the First Circuit Court of Appeals. Even with the delay, the ruling takes effect well before the executive order’s partial implementation date of July 27.

“This ruling is a huge victory that protects the citizenship of all children born in the United States, as the Constitution guarantees,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants' Rights Project.

Devon Chaffee, executive director of the ACLU of New Hampshire, added, “The court agreed once again that Trump’s executive order violates the U.S. Constitution. Citizenship is not something politicians can strip away.”

Morenike Fajana, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund, called the decision “a powerful affirmation of the 14th Amendment and the principle that citizenship is a right by birth, not a privilege.”

Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, highlighted the fear and uncertainty many parents have faced since the Supreme Court ruling. “This injunction is a major victory for families and reaffirms that constitutional rights cannot be erased by executive decree,” she said.

Tianna Mays of the Democracy Defenders Fund emphasized the importance of the ruling for millions of families nationwide, while Molly Curren Rowles of the ACLU of Maine noted that the decision affirms America’s longstanding commitment to birthright citizenship.

The case remains ongoing, with advocates vowing to continue defending the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for all children born on U.S. soil.