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 block birthright citizenship, the constitutional right to grant automatic citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
District Court Judge John Cognore on Thursday issued a temporary restraining order in Seattle, Washington, preventing the government from implementing what he called a “clearly unconstitutional” measure.
“I’ve been on the bench for four decades, and I can’t remember another case where the question presented was this clear,” Cognore said. “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?
Trump’s order has been criticized by rights groups who see it as a fundamental attack on the concept of American citizenship.
The executive order threatens to affect not only children born in the United States to undocumented parents, but also children of legal immigrants in the country.
Monday’s order, part of a raft of measures Trump has signed to limit immigration, was quickly challenged in court.
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 ban came as a result of a complaint filed by four Democrat-led states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. This was the first suit to reach the hearing stage.
Washington Assistant Attorney General Len Polozola argued at the start of the hearing that children born today would not be considered US citizens under the order.
For more than a century, the Supreme Court has also upheld the concept of birthright citizenship, citing the 14th Amendment to 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 maintained that birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration to the United States.
He also argues that the 14th Amendment was not intended to apply to people whose parents are undocumented because they are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.
Trump’s Justice Department called Monday’s executive order an “essential part” of the administration’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 parent is a citizen or legal permanent resident.
This, in turn, makes these children vulnerable to deportation. Without a Social Security card, an important identification document, children may struggle to access even basic government services.
The United States is one of about 30 countries in the world where citizenship is a birthright. The 14th Amendment was enacted after the Civil War to grant citizenship to black people who were formerly slaves.
