A federal judge in Seattle has halted President Donald Trump’s attempt to limit automatic birthright citizenship, labelling the executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional.”
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order at the request of four Democratic-led states, blocking the enforcement of Trump’s executive order, which he signed on his first day in office.
Judge Coughenour declared the order unconstitutional in response to a U.S. Justice Department lawyer defending the measure in court. The executive order, which restricts birthright citizenship, has prompted five lawsuits by civil rights organizations and Democratic attorneys general from 22 states, claiming it violates the U.S. Constitution.
Washington Assistant Attorney General Lane Polozola stated at a Seattle court hearing, “According to this order, infants born today will not be acknowledged as U.S. citizens.” citizens,”. As a representative of the Democratic state attorneys general from Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, Polozola urged the court for prompt action to block the implementation of this essential aspect of Trump’s immigration policies.
The challengers argue that Trump’s executive order contravenes the citizenship clause of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which affirms that anyone born in the United States is a citizen. Trump’s directive specifically mandates U.S. agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the United States unless one or both parents are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.
The U.S. Justice Department defended the executive order in a brief, describing it as “an integral part” of Trump’s strategy to reform the nation’s flawed immigration system and address the crisis at the southern border.
The Seattle lawsuit is progressing more rapidly than the four connected cases. Judge Coughenour, appointed by former Republican President Ronald Reagan, presided over it. Following the arguments, the judge may provide a bench ruling or take additional time to issue a written decision before the scheduled implementation of the order.
Under Trump’s executive order, children born after February 19 to non-citizen or non-permanent resident parents would face deportation and be ineligible for Social Security numbers, various government benefits, and legal employment opportunities as adults.
According to the Democratic-led states, if Trump’s order remains in effect, over 150,000 newborns annually would be denied citizenship. They also noted that the Supreme Court affirmed the understanding of the Constitution’s citizenship clause in 1898, recognizing the citizenship rights of children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents.
The Justice Department contends that the 14th Amendment does not universally confer citizenship to everyone born in the U.S. and that the landmark Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark applied only to children of permanent residents. Additionally, the department argued that the lawsuit by the four states fails on several legal grounds, claiming that only individuals—not states—have the standing to challenge under the citizenship clause.
