‘Blatantly unconstitutional’: U.S. judge temporarily blocks Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship
A recent ruling by a federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that aimed to ban birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants. The judge, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, described the executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional” and granted a 14-day restraining order in response to lawsuits filed by four U.S. states – Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.
Judge Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, expressed disbelief at the executive order, stating that in his more than 40 years on the bench, he had never seen a case that was so clearly unconstitutional. The ruling is a setback for the Trump administration, as 22 U.S. states and immigrant rights groups have also filed lawsuits challenging the ban on birthright citizenship. They argue that the executive order is both unconstitutional and unprecedented.
The executive order, signed by President Trump shortly after taking office, seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. However, the order specifies that children born to illegal immigrant parents or those born to parents on temporary nonimmigrant visas are not entitled to citizenship by birthright.
The U.S. is one of approximately 30 countries that adhere to the principle of birthright citizenship. Opponents of the executive order argue that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the country.
The ban on birthright citizenship was scheduled to take effect on February 19 and would have impacted hundreds of thousands of children born in the U.S. annually. The legal battle surrounding the executive order is ongoing, with more updates expected in the near future.
Breanne Deppisch, a politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the 2024 election and other national news, contributed to this report. Stay tuned for further developments on this breaking news story.
