A US judge has temporarily suspended an order restricting Trump’s birthright citizenship
By Dan Catchpole, Nat Raymond (NSE:)
SEATTLE (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday blocked Donald Trump’s administration from implementing an executive order that curbs the Republican president’s right to birthright U.S. citizenship, calling it “clearly unconstitutional.”
Seattle-based U.S. District Judge John Kunnor issued a temporary restraining order in four Democratic-led states — Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon — preventing the administration from enforcing the order. Trump signed the order on Monday, his first day back in office.
The judge, a Republican appointee of former President Ronald Reagan, has struck the first legal hurdle against immigration policies that have been at the center of Trump’s second term.
“We will certainly appeal,” Trump said of Cogonor’s ruling.
Trump’s executive order directed U.S. agencies not to grant citizenship to children born in the United States if neither mother nor father is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
“I have a hard time understanding how a member of the bar can say unequivocally that this order is constitutional,” the judge told a US Justice Department lawyer who defended Trump’s order. “It just boggles my mind.”
The states have argued that Trump’s order violates the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution; This includes anyone born in the United States.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I don’t remember another case where the question was as clear as this. This is a clearly unconstitutional system,” Kogoner said of Trump’s policy.
Cogonor’s order, which was announced in a brief court hearing packed with other judges, would block Trump’s policy from taking effect nationwide for 14 days, while the judge is considering whether to issue a longer-term preliminary injunction.
Under Trump’s order, children born in the United States after Feb. 19 to non-U.S. parents or legal permanent residents will be barred from deportation and denied access to a Social Security number, various government benefits, and disability benefits. Old enough to work legally.
Washington State Assistant Attorney General Lan Polozola told the judge, referring to Trump’s policy, “under this order, children born today are not considered American citizens.”
Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate argued Trump’s action was unconstitutional and called it “wildly inappropriate” to bar any impeachment proceedings. But before Shumate could even finish responding to Polozola’s argument, Cogonor said he signed the temporary restraining order.
‘Strongly defend’
The Justice Department plans to file papers next week to urge the judge not to issue a longer order, Shumate said. A Justice Department spokesman said it plans to continue to “vigorously defend” Trump’s order.
“We look forward to making a full case to the court and the American people who want to see our nation’s laws enforced,” the spokesman said.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said he saw no reason to expect the Justice Department to overturn Cogonor’s decision on appeal, even though the U.S. Supreme Court, which has three judges appointed by a 6-3 conservative majority, is a Democrat. By Trump.
“If you’re born on American soil, you’re an American citizen,” Brown said. “Nothing the president can do will change that.”
Democratic states say more than 150,000 newborns could be denied citizenship if Trump’s order is allowed to stand.
Since Trump signed the order, at least six lawsuits have been filed challenging it, most by civil rights groups and Democratic attorneys general from 22 states.
The Democratic attorney general said the Constitution’s understanding of the citizenship clause dates back to 127 years ago when the United States Supreme Court ruled that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents have American citizenship.
Following the US Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, overturning the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which ruled that the Constitution’s protections did not apply to enslaved black people.
In a filing late Wednesday, the Justice Department called the order a key part of Trump’s effort to “fix this country’s broken immigration system and the crisis at the southern border.”
The 36-member House of Representatives, which is Trump’s Republican ally, passed legislation on Tuesday that would limit automatic citizenship to children born to US citizens or legal permanent residents.