A federal judge blocked Donald Trump’s administration on Thursday from implementing the Republican president’s executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Seattle-based U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order at the urging of 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, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan, dealt the first legal setback to the hardline policies on immigration that are a centrepiece of Trump’s second term as president.
“Obviously we’ll appeal,” Trump said of Coughenour’s ruling.
Trump’s executive order had directed U.S. agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States if neither their mother nor father is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order
Among the executive orders President Donald Trump signed just hours after taking office as the 47th President of the United States of America, USA, was the one directing government agencies to stop issuing citizenship documentation for babies born in the US to parents without legal status.
Immigration advocacy groups have already sued, and given the controversial nature of the orders, more lawsuits are expected.
The order is titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”.
‘Blatantly unconstitutional’
According to the BBC in Seattle today, things did not go well for Trump’s lawyers during the brief hearing.
Four states asked a judge to immediately block Trump’s attempt to deny the right to birthright citizenship to children born to undocumented migrants and people in the US temporarily.
Judge John Coughenour interrupted Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate as he began arguing the order’s validity, asking him directly, “Is this order constitutional?”
The judge again interrupted as Shumate began to respond, saying, “This is a blatantly unconstitutional order.
