A federal judge temporarily blocked on Thursday (23) President Trump’s executive order to end automatic citizenship for babies born on American soil to undocumented immigrant parents, giving the president his first setback.
In a hearing held three days after Trump issued his executive order, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sided, at least for now, with four states suing the federal government. “This is a flagrantly unconstitutional order,” he said.
“Frankly,” he continued, challenging the Trump administration’s lawyers, “I have a hard time understanding how a member of the order would unequivocally declare this to be a constitutional order. It simply leaves me perplexed.”
Trump’s order, issued in the early hours of his presidency, declared that children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants would no longer be treated as citizens. The order also extended to babies of mothers who were in the country legally but temporarily, such as tourists, college students, or temporary workers.
In response, 22 states, along with activist groups and pregnant women, filed six lawsuits to suspend the executive order, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment, which states, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
In the case before Judge Coughenour of the Washington District Court, who was appointed to the bench by President Ronald Reagan, the attorneys general of Washington, Illinois, Oregon, and Arizona argued that Trump’s order would deny rights and benefits to more than 150,000 children born each year and leave some of them stateless.
In their briefs, the states cite testimony from then-Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger. In 1995, Dellinger told Congress that a law limiting citizenship by birthright would be “unconstitutional on its face” and that even a constitutional amendment “would completely contradict the constitutional history and traditions of the nation.”
Federal government lawyers argued at the hearing that they should have the opportunity to provide a more complete briefing to the court because the executive order would not take effect until next month. The states responded that the government’s order created an immediate burden for them, requiring them to alter the systems that determine eligibility for federally supported programs.
Judge Coughenour emphatically agreed with the states: “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades,” he said. “I can’t recall another case where the issue presented was as clear as this. This is a flagrantly unconstitutional order. Where were the lawyers when this decision was being made?”
A separate federal lawsuit filed by 18 other states and two cities is also being considered in Massachusetts.
Source: The New York Times