US federal judge blocks Donald Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
A federal judge has temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, regardless of the parents’ immigration status.
FollowA federal judge has temporarily blocked US President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, regardless of the parents’ immigration status. US District Judge John C. Coughenour issued the ruling on Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon.
The lawsuit argues that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil. The amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The states contend that the amendment has been interpreted for over a century to provide citizenship to individuals born in the US, regardless of their parents’ legal status. They cited the landmark 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents was a US citizen.
Trump’s executive order, signed on Inauguration Day and slated to take effect on February 19, challenges this interpretation. It asserts that children of noncitizens are not subject to US jurisdiction and directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the US unless at least one parent is a citizen.
The order, if enacted, could impact hundreds of thousands of individuals. In 2022, approximately 255,000 children were born to mothers living in the country illegally, and 153,000 were born to parents who were both undocumented, according to the lawsuit.
The legal challenge is one of five lawsuits filed by 22 states and immigrant rights groups. Among the plaintiffs is “Carmen,” a pregnant woman who has lived in the US for over 15 years and fears her child will be denied citizenship under the order. The lawsuit describes stripping children of citizenship as a “grave injury,” depriving them of “full membership in US society.”
The debate over birthright citizenship has personal significance for several attorneys general involved in the case. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, the first Chinese American to hold the position, emphasized the importance of birthright citizenship, saying, “There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. The fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm on American families like my own.”
Trump’s order has reignited controversy over the principle of jus soli (right of the soil), a practice observed in about 30 countries, including the US, Canada, and Mexico. Advocates of immigration restrictions argue that the 14th Amendment’s protections were intended for children of legal immigrants, not those born to undocumented parents.
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