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Wednesday, 19 February, 2025

US Judge Blocks Trump's Effort to Limit Birthright Citizenship

Express Desk
  24 Jan 2025, 05:43
US President Donald Trump stands after delivering remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, Jan 21, 2025.

A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, ruling it to be "blatantly unconstitutional."

US District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order, halting the administration from enforcing the controversial directive. The order came at the request of four states led by Democratic governors.

Signed by Trump on his first day in office, the executive order sought to direct US agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if neither of their parents is a US citizen or legal permanent resident.

"I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional," the judge told a US Justice Department lawyer defending Trump's order. "It just boggles my mind."

The states - Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon - argued that Trump's order violated the right enshrined in the citizenship clause of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment that provides that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.

"This is a blatantly unconstitutional order," the judge said.

Before Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate had even finished talking, Coughenour said he had signed a temporary restraining order sought by Democratic state attorneys general from the states.

"Under this order, babies being born today don't count as US citizens," Washington Assistant Attorney General Lane Polozola argued in a packed courtroom.

Coughenour, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan, issued a temporary restraining order that blocked Trump's order from being enforced nationwide for 14 days while he weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

Under Trump's executive order, any child born after February 19 to parents who are neither US citizens nor lawful permanent residents would face deportation. These children would also be denied Social Security numbers, government benefits, and the ability to work legally as they grow older.

According to the Democratic-led states, if the order were upheld, more than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship each year.

In addition, several lawsuits are ongoing nationwide, filed by civil rights groups and Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, who argue that the order constitutes a clear violation of the US Constitution.

The Democratic state attorneys general contend that the interpretation of the Constitution's citizenship clause was solidified 127 years ago when the US Supreme Court ruled that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are entitled to American citizenship.

The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, overturned the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, which had declared that constitutional protections did not extend to enslaved Black people.

In a brief filed on Wednesday, the US Justice Department defended the order, calling it an "integral part" of the president's broader efforts to "address this nation's broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at the southern border."

During Thursday's hearing, Schumate argued that the order was constitutional and that any attempt to block it would be "wildly inappropriate."

Separately, 36 of Trump's Republican allies in the US House of Representatives introduced legislation on Tuesday to restrict automatic citizenship to children born only to US citizens or lawful permanent residents.

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US Judge Blocks Trump's Effort to Limit Birthright Citizenship

Express Desk
  24 Jan 2025, 05:43
US President Donald Trump stands after delivering remarks on AI infrastructure at the Roosevelt room at White House in Washington, US, Jan 21, 2025.

A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at limiting birthright citizenship, ruling it to be "blatantly unconstitutional."

US District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order, halting the administration from enforcing the controversial directive. The order came at the request of four states led by Democratic governors.

Signed by Trump on his first day in office, the executive order sought to direct US agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if neither of their parents is a US citizen or legal permanent resident.

"I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional," the judge told a US Justice Department lawyer defending Trump's order. "It just boggles my mind."

The states - Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon - argued that Trump's order violated the right enshrined in the citizenship clause of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment that provides that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.

"This is a blatantly unconstitutional order," the judge said.

Before Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate had even finished talking, Coughenour said he had signed a temporary restraining order sought by Democratic state attorneys general from the states.

"Under this order, babies being born today don't count as US citizens," Washington Assistant Attorney General Lane Polozola argued in a packed courtroom.

Coughenour, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan, issued a temporary restraining order that blocked Trump's order from being enforced nationwide for 14 days while he weighs whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

Under Trump's executive order, any child born after February 19 to parents who are neither US citizens nor lawful permanent residents would face deportation. These children would also be denied Social Security numbers, government benefits, and the ability to work legally as they grow older.

According to the Democratic-led states, if the order were upheld, more than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship each year.

In addition, several lawsuits are ongoing nationwide, filed by civil rights groups and Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, who argue that the order constitutes a clear violation of the US Constitution.

The Democratic state attorneys general contend that the interpretation of the Constitution's citizenship clause was solidified 127 years ago when the US Supreme Court ruled that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are entitled to American citizenship.

The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, overturned the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, which had declared that constitutional protections did not extend to enslaved Black people.

In a brief filed on Wednesday, the US Justice Department defended the order, calling it an "integral part" of the president's broader efforts to "address this nation's broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at the southern border."

During Thursday's hearing, Schumate argued that the order was constitutional and that any attempt to block it would be "wildly inappropriate."

Separately, 36 of Trump's Republican allies in the US House of Representatives introduced legislation on Tuesday to restrict automatic citizenship to children born only to US citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Comments

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