A federal judge has put a stop to Donald Trump’s efforts to limit birthright citizenship in the United States, marking a significant win for liberal states against the new president’s stringent agenda.
This ruling enforces a 14-day stay on the application of one of the most contentious executive orders signed by Mr. Trump shortly after his second inauguration.
“This is clearly an unconstitutional order,” US District Judge John Coughenour reportedly stated during the courtroom proceedings in Washington state.
“Having served on the bench for over four decades, I can’t recall another case where the issue presented is as straightforward as this one,” remarked Justice Coughenour, who was appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan.
“We are eager to present a comprehensive merits argument to the court and to the American public, who are anxious to see our nation’s laws upheld,” the spokesperson stated.
Birthright citizenship is established in the US Constitution under the 14th Amendment, which stipulates that anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
It states, in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Mr. Trump’s directive was based on the assertion that anyone in the United States illegally, or on a visa, was not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country, and thus excluded from this classification.
An astonished Justice Coughenour criticized Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate for claiming that Mr. Trump’s order was constitutional.
“Honestly, I struggle to comprehend how a member of the legal profession could assert unequivocally that this is a constitutional order,” Justice Coughenour stated.
“It just boggles my mind.”
‘On a whim’
This ruling follows a wave of lawsuits initiated by 22 states, two cities, and various civil rights organizations.
It was celebrated by the states involved in the legal challenges.
“No president can alter the Constitution on a whim, and today’s decision confirms that,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes noted.
The ruling marks “the first of many victories to follow as my office counters instances of executive overreach and any unlawful actions from the new administration.”
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown referred to Mr. Trump’s order as “un-American.”
“Birthright citizenship clearly establishes that citizenship cannot be contingent on one’s race, ethnicity, or the nationality of one’s parents,” he remarked following the ruling.
“It is the law of our nation, acknowledged by generations of judges, lawmakers, and presidents, before President Trump’s unlawful action.”
California congressman Ted Lieu stated that the matter is straightforward.
“Birthright citizenship is as American as apple pie,” he shared on social media. “If you’re born in America, you’re a citizen.”
The legal challenge was expected, and Trump had recognized that it was probable when he signed the order.
He has consistently—though incorrectly—claimed that the United States is the only country in the world with birthright citizenship; in reality, more than 30 other countries, including Canada and Mexico, also have similar provisions.
Mr. Trump’s critics argue that the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 during the post-Civil War reconstruction era, has been established law for over a century.
They reference an 1898 US Supreme Court ruling regarding a Chinese American man named Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco.
Mr. Wong was denied re-entry into the United States after visiting relatives in China on the basis that he was not a citizen.
The court confirmed that children born in the United States, including those born to immigrant parents, cannot be denied citizenship.
