🇺🇸MARYLAND: A second federal judge has blocked Trump from implementing its plan to limit U.S. birthright citizenship, ruling that no court has ever endorsed Trump’s interpretation of the Constitution.
Judge Deborah Boardman issued a nationwide preliminary injunction, preventing Trump’s order from taking effect while the case is litigated.
“Today, virtually every baby born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen upon birth,” Boardman said. “That is the law and tradition of our country. That law and tradition are and will remain the status quo pending the resolution of this case.”
A U.S. Justice Department lawyer requested 60 days to respond but did not confirm whether the administration would appeal. Boardman’s ruling extends beyond the 14-day pause imposed on Jan. 23 by federal judge, John Coughenour, who called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.” Coughenour is set to consider a longer injunction on Thursday.
Trump’s executive order, signed on Jan. 20, directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Lawyers for CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project argue the order violates the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which guarantees birthright citizenship.
Boardman rejected Trump’s interpretation, citing “125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent.”
Trump’s Justice Department claims past administrations misinterpreted the amendment and that the Wong Kim Ark decision applied only to children of immigrants with “permanent domicile and residence in the United States.”
“Illegal aliens are not permitted to be in the U.S. at all,” said Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton.
Boardman disagreed, concluding that Trump’s order contradicts the “plain language of the 14th Amendment” and “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth.”
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