Morning AF 7/2/2025

If I Were Judge Boardman: Protecting Babies from Deportation and Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Assault

By Michael Popok

If I were Judge Boardman in Maryland—tasked with protecting American-born babies from being secretly deported in the dead of night by Donald Trump’s administration—I wouldn’t believe a single word that came out of their mouths during yesterday’s hearing. Not one.

That hearing, which I followed closely, was convened to determine whether Judge Boardman should issue an emergency class certification for all babies born from February 25, 2025, to the present. The reason? To get to the heart of Donald Trump’s depraved and unconstitutional attempt to rip birthright citizenship right out of the Constitution.

And if I were her, I’d be asking the same question she did: why on earth should we trust anything coming from the Trump administration—especially from their lawyer, Brad Rosenberg?

To her credit, she didn’t trust him. Instead, she ordered the Trump administration to file a sworn declaration—by today—stating clearly whether or not they intend to deport babies who were born in U.S. hospitals and are therefore U.S. citizens. That’s the posture we're in. She needs to know if babies will be forcibly removed before she can rule on class certification and the preliminary injunction hearing she set for the end of July.

So, did she get a clear answer? Not even close.

If I were the judge—and frankly, in my mind, I already am—I would’ve read that filing and immediately granted the emergency class certification. I’d enter a temporary restraining order to protect these children. That’s not a radical idea; it’s what she all but said during the hearing.

Let me step back and explain why this is urgent. On Friday, the Supreme Court handed down a decision that obliterated decades of precedent by severely limiting the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions—especially those protecting constitutional rights. Currently, there are at least 24 such injunctions against the Trump administration. That ruling effectively called all of them into question, declaring that federal judges no longer have discretion to issue nationwide relief unless a class is certified.

Justice Kavanaugh even told the country that if you want broad protection, go get a class action certified. That’s the only way left. So public interest groups—like CASA and its legal team—raced to court, filing for a class action and an emergency injunction just hours after the Supreme Court ruling came down. Judge Boardman held a hearing the very next business day.

And it became painfully obvious during that hearing that she doesn’t trust the Trump administration’s Department of Justice. Who could blame her? There’s reporting—credible, serious reporting—that Emil Bove, the number three official in the DOJ and a current federal appellate nominee, held a March meeting instructing DOJ immigration attorneys to ignore federal court orders, lie to judges, and tell them to, quote, “go f— themselves.” That’s not my language. That’s theirs.

So when Judge Boardman turned to Rosenberg and said, “I need to know whether you’re removing babies before July 27,” she meant it. That’s her timeline for ruling on the class certification and the injunction. His verbal answer was a flat “no,” but she wasn’t buying it. She said, “Put it in writing. Tomorrow.”

Now, if Rosenberg and his team had any intention of reassuring the court, here’s what they should’ve done—and I’ve done this in my own legal practice: file a simple stipulation. Agree to a stay. Promise not to remove or deport any babies born in the U.S. until the court has ruled. That’s it. Basic. Respectful. Clear.

Instead, they filed what I can only describe as a legal game of Three-card Monte.

Their written filing—now on the record—quotes the Supreme Court’s partial stay. Then Rosenberg writes this:

“Under the Supreme Court’s stay, July 27th is the earliest date on which defendants may begin to apply Executive Order 14160... However, as the Supreme Court recognized, the executive order also provides for a 30-day ramp-up period...”

Translation? Who knows. It could mean they’ll wait until August 27 to start enforcing this dangerous executive order—or it could mean they’re starting now to draft and publish guidance, and by July 27, it’s go time.

If I were Judge Boardman, I would not tolerate this coy, bureaucratic doublespeak. I’d issue an order that says, clearly:

“Based on the filing submitted by the Department of Justice, this Court has no confidence that the executive order will not be enforced before July 27. Given the Department’s past conduct, public whistleblower reports, and misleading representations to other federal judges, the Court hereby certifies the class provisionally and issues a temporary restraining order. The U.S. Government is enjoined from deporting or removing any U.S. citizen infants born from February 25, 2025, through the date of this Court’s final ruling.”

That’s what should happen.

Let me be very clear: we are talking about deporting American-born babies. Citizens. Infants. The DOJ is trying to play fast and loose with the timeline, with the facts, and with the law. And frankly, it’s appalling.

So Judge Boardman, don’t wait. Speed up your briefing schedule. Don’t give them until the end of July. The mothers of these children—their lives are hanging in the balance. They don’t care if the government lawyers have to work through the Fourth of July weekend. Neither do I. Neither should you.