SEATTLE — A federal district judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship. This is the first skirmish in a long legal battle over the new administration’s agenda.
After hearing 25 minutes of arguments, Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Cogner issued an order blocking the policy from taking effect for 14 days. As the case progresses, further clarification will be provided regarding the preliminary injunction to permanently block the executive order.
“I’ve been on the bench for over 40 years,” said Cogner, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan. “I can’t recall any other case where the issue was raised as clearly as this one. This is a clearly unconstitutional order.”
The lawsuit comes as four states (Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon) sought to block the order before it goes into effect in late February. This is one of five lawsuits brought by Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights groups that call unconstitutional orders that seek to limit automatic birthright citizenship for children of American citizens and green card holders. .
The Fourteenth Amendment has long been understood to confer automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, except for the children of foreign diplomats. In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of 1857, which held that descendants of slaves were not citizens, the proposed amendment begins with the following sentence: of the United States and the state in which they reside. ”
“President Trump and the federal government are now attempting to impose a modern-day version of Dred Scott,” attorneys representing the four states wrote in a court filing. “However, nothing in the Constitution authorizes the President, federal agencies, or others to impose conditions on the granting of citizenship to U.S.-born individuals.”
Lawyers argue that if President Trump’s order is implemented, the plaintiff states would lose federal funding that supports programs such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). In addition to “significant economic losses,” states would have to immediately shoulder the burden of changing the administration of these programs to account for the changes, the attorneys added.
“Without a temporary restraining order, children born in plaintiff states would soon become illegal aliens, subject to deportation or detention, and many would become stateless,” the attorneys continued. “They will be stripped of their right to travel freely and re-enter the United States. As they grow up, they will not be able to obtain a Social Security Number (SSN) and will not be able to work legally. They will not be able to vote. They will be stripped of their rights to serve on juries, serve on juries, and run for certain offices, leaving them in a precarious and precarious position as part of a new underclass created by the president in the United States. It will be placed in
Justice Department lawyers said in a filing that the birthright citizenship order is an “integral part” of President Trump’s efforts to “address this country’s broken immigration system and the ongoing crisis at our southern border.” He told Mr. Kohnur that there is.
They argue that not only does Trump have the authority to issue the order, but states lack standing to sue based on alleged economic harm.
“Third parties, including states, have no legally recognized interest in the federal government’s recognition of a particular individual’s citizenship, let alone a complete right to citizenship status,” said Brad Rosenberg, a Justice Department litigator. “Not to mention the economic benefits and burdens that come with it.”
While most of the Justice Department’s filings focus on technical arguments about why states can’t sue, Rosenberg said there are potential implications for this and other cases as they move forward. This is a preview of some of the discussions. 14th Amendment for over 100 years.
“A wealth of historical evidence shows that the children of nonresident aliens are subject to foreign powers; therefore, they are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and receive constitutional birthright citizenship.” No rights,” Rosenberg wrote.
Ultimately, the case will likely be appealed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
