After President Donald Trump began his administration with a series of court orders, including one denying birthright citizenship, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked the decree, thus beginning a fight that seems to be a long one, as the president has already threatened to appeal the decision and fulfill his campaign promise.
The decision was made by Judge John C. Coughenour, who, with his resolution, prevents the application of the controversial measure for at least 14 days; however, the situation could be extended and become a long term.
This resolution joins the multiple lawsuits against the measure. So far, four states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon – have filed appeals to prevent the executive order from going into effect at the end of February, arguing that it violates the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” the judge said of the ordinance. “I have been on the court for four decades. I cannot recall anything that is as clear-cut as this.”
The states suing the executive order noted that: “Nothing in the Constitution gives the President, federal agencies, or anyone else the authority to impose conditions on the granting of citizenship to persons born in the United States.”
However, Donald Trump announced that he will appeal Judge Coughenour's decision.
Trump, who is not surprised by the judge's decision, said from the Oval Office: “No. Obviously, we will appeal. They filed it with a certain judge in Seattle, I guess. Right? And there are no surprises with that judge.”
It should be noted that 22 states, the city of San Francisco and the District of Columbia, as well as several civil rights organizations, have sued the Trump Administration for seeking to eliminate birthright citizenship.
These lawsuits seek to challenge the unconstitutional executive order that would affect tens of thousands of babies born each year in the United States.
The lawsuit, led by California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, argues that President Trump’s unprecedented executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and should be immediately blocked from taking effect while litigation is ongoing.
The executive order signed by Trump, entitled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” states that the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted as a universal extension of citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly promises that “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 U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this constitutional right in 1898, when a Chinese-American man born in San Francisco was denied entry to the United States after visiting relatives in China on the grounds that he was not a citizen.
The order directs federal agencies to prospectively deny citizenship rights to children born in the United States whose parents are not legal residents, orders the Social Security Administration and the Department of State, respectively, to stop issuing Social Security numbers and U.S. passports to these children, and directs all federal agencies to treat these children as if they were not entitled to any privileges, rights, or benefits that are reserved by law to persons who are U.S. citizens.
If the order is allowed to stand, it would deprive tens of thousands of children born each year of their ability to be full and fair participants in American society as legitimate citizens, with all the benefits and privileges that come with it, the lawsuit says.
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