- Says it boggles my mind
- I will appeal says Trump
In a significant legal setback for former President Donald Trump, a federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked his administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States. US District Court Judge John Coughenour condemned Trump’s executive order as “blatantly unconstitutional,” issuing a restraining order that prevents the order from taking effect following a 25-minute hearing on Thursday.
Under the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, nearly anyone born on US soil is automatically granted citizenship. Trump aimed to change this for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas.
The lawsuit, brought forth by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, sought to pause the enforcement of the executive order while the case is under review. During the hearing, Judge Coughenour questioned a lawyer representing the Trump administration, asking, “Where were the lawyers when the executive order was drafted?” He expressed disbelief at the claim that the order was constitutional, stating, “It boggles my mind.”
The judge’s ruling will keep the executive order on hold for 14 days while further legal proceedings unfold. Trump, who resumed his presidency earlier this week, has long expressed a desire to implement this change. His order sought to instruct federal departments and agencies to deny citizenship to children born to undocumented migrants or those on temporary visas, affecting births from February 19 onward.
Reports indicated that the administration intended to enforce the order by withholding essential documents, such as passports, from individuals deemed ineligible for citizenship. The judge’s ruling also temporarily halted any enforcement actions by federal agencies.
The four states challenging the order argued that the 14th Amendment and US law automatically confer citizenship to anyone born in the United States. They contended that the president lacks the authority to amend the Constitution and warned that implementing the order would cause “immediate and irreparable harm” to residents. The lawsuit stated, “Individuals stripped of their United States citizenship will be rendered undocumented, subject to removal or detention, and many will be stateless.”
In response, Trump’s Department of Justice claimed that the states’ case did not warrant the “extraordinary measure” of a temporary restraining order, but Judge Coughenour disagreed. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, asserts, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
The DOJ argued that the phrase “subject to their jurisdiction” excludes children of non-citizens who are unlawfully in the country, asserting that the executive order is crucial to addressing the nation’s “broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at the southern border.”
According to the states’ legal challenge, approximately 255,000 children were born to undocumented mothers in the US in 2022. Courts have historically interpreted the amendment as granting citizenship to anyone born on US territory, with very few exceptions, such as children of foreign diplomats.
Experts indicate that without a formal amendment to the Constitution—which requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress and approval from the states—the ultimate resolution of this issue is likely to rest with the courts. The federal government has stated its intention to appeal the ruling, with expectations that the case will eventually reach the US Supreme Court.
The birthright citizenship amendment was established in the aftermath of the Civil War to address the citizenship of freed American-born former slaves. Lane Polozola, a lawyer representing Washington state, argued in court that Trump’s order would plunge the nation back into “one of our darkest chapters.”
Judge Coughenour, who has served in the Western District of Washington since 1981 after being appointed by then-President Ronald Reagan, has now paused the executive order’s implementation. Additionally, a coalition of 18 other Democratic-led states, along with the District of Columbia and the city of San Francisco, have filed a separate legal challenge against the executive order, which is also facing scrutiny from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
In response to the ruling, Trump stated on Thursday, “Obviously we will appeal it,” reaffirming his administration’s commitment to contesting the decision made by Judge Coughenour, who described the president’s order as “blatantly unconstitutional.”
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