US judge blocks Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship donald trump news
Trump’s order targets the constitutional right to automatically grant citizenship to anyone born in the country.
A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to curtail birthright citizenship, the constitutionally enshrined right to give automatic citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
District Court Judge John Coughnor issued a temporary restraining order in Seattle, Washington, on Thursday, blocking the government from imposing the “patently unconstitutional” measure.
Coughnor said, “I’ve been on the bench for more than four decades, and I can’t remember any other case where the question presented was so clear.” “This is a completely unconstitutional order. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being taken?”
Trump’s order has been viewed with concern by rights groups who characterize it as a fundamental attack on the concept of American citizenship.
The executive order threatened to impact not only children born to undocumented parents in the US, but also children of immigrants in the country legally.
Monday’s order, part of a flurry of measures signed by Trump to restrict immigration, were immediately challenged in court.
At least five lawsuits have been filed against Trump’s attack on birthright citizenship, involving officials from 22 states and several civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
Thursday’s temporary restraining order came as the result of a complaint filed by four Democrat-led states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. This was the first case to reach the trial stage.
“Under this order, children born today are not counted as American citizens,” Washington Assistant Attorney General Len Polozola argued at the beginning of the hearing.
For more than a century, the Supreme Court has also upheld the concept of birthright citizenship, pointing to the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
It states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
However, the Trump administration has said that birthright citizenship encourages irregular migration to the US.
It has also been argued that the 14th Amendment was not meant to apply to people with undocumented parents because they are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US.
Trump’s Justice Department described Monday’s executive order as an “integral part” of the government’s efforts to address “the ongoing crisis at the southern border.”
The order directs the Social Security Administration not to issue Social Security cards or numbers to children born after Feb. 19 if neither of their parents is a citizen or legal permanent resident.
This, in turn, makes those children vulnerable to deportation. Without a Social Security card, a key identity document, children may struggle to access even basic government services.
The US is one of about 30 countries in the world with birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War to grant citizenship to black people who were previously slaves.
