A federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order on Thursday, calling for an end to birthright citizenship.
U.S. District Judge John Corneau In cases filed by Washington and three other states It is the first of what I believe is a long, legal battle over the constitutionality of the order.
Coughenour was called “blatantly unconstitutional.”
“I find it difficult for bar members to understand how clearly this is a constitutional order,” the judge told lawyers for the Trump administration. “It stirs my heart.”
Coughenour’s decision came after a 25-minute discussion between Washington State and a Justice Department lawyer.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Nick Brown, along with fellow Oregon, Arizona and Illinois, sued the Trump administration by order. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, the state asked Coughenour to grant a temporary 14-day restraining order to halt implementation of enforcement measures nationwide.
Eight other states filed similar cases in federal courts in Massachusetts. These states do not require temporary restraining orders.
I find it difficult to understand how members of the bar can clearly state this is a constitutional order.
– US District Judge John Corneau becomes Trump administration lawyer
Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office on Monday. It would end the birthright citizenship of babies born to mothers and fathers who are not citizens of the United States.
Justice Department Brett Schmate argued that the rush of emergency suspensions was unfair as the order would not come into effect until February 19th. He called the state’s allegations “extraordinary.”
The state’s attorneys have admitted that the temporary restraining order is extraordinary, but is guaranteed. Washington loses federal dollars used to serve its citizens, and officials are forced to change their systems of service.
Lane Porozola of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office said the order “caused immediate, widespread and serious harm.” “Citizens are stripped of their most fundamental rights, the right to have rights.”
Addressing reporters after the hearing, Brown said the executive order would not be in effect for nearly a month, but would force the nation to begin preparing for the change now.
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution In 1868, he codified his birth citizenship. “Everyone born or naturalized in the United States is subject to that jurisdiction and is a citizen of the United States and the state they live in.”
The executive order focuses on the phrase “object of that jurisdiction.”
“The amendment to Article 14 has never been interpreted as a universal extension of citizenship to all born within the United States,” Trump’s order reads. “The 14th amendment has always been excluded from birthright citizenship, which was born in the United States but is not “the subject of its jurisdiction.” ”
Porozola calls this interpretation “absurd,” saying that children without legal immigration status are still subject to US law. He added that birthright citizenship is a “no entry” right.
Legal precedents have long backed up birthright citizenship. In 1898, the US Supreme Court upheld the concept when Justice ruled Wong Kim Ark, a man born to Chinese parents born in San Francisco, was a US citizen.
In 2022, approximately 153,000 babies were born to two parents with no legal immigration status nationwide, including 4,000 in Washington.
Coughenour was a federal judge for decades. Republican President Ronald Reagan nominated him to the bench in 1981.
Brown called Thursday’s hearing “Step 1.”
“But when I hear a judge say in his 40 years as a judge he has never seen anything so “blatantly unconstitutional,” it sets the tone of the severity of this effort.” said Brown.
Thursday’s courtroom did not allow video and audio recordings.
Looking forward to it, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will have jurisdiction over this case. The Democratic president has appointed a majority of circuit judges. An appeal could ultimately land the dispute in the US Supreme Court.
Shumate said the incident almost certainly ends there. But Brown said it was “one step at a time.”
“I don’t think there’s any reason to reach a decision that’s different from what we’ve reached today,” he told reporters.
In a court application this week, state officials, academics and nonprofits explained how the order could have a detrimental effect on Washington, including losing federal refunds for various social programs.
Tom Wong, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Diego, holds the state’s “permanent lower classes of people who are excluded from US citizenship and are unable to achieve their full potential.” It says it will be created.
Congressional Republicans introduced the law Thursday Limit birthright citizenship. The bill amends federal immigration law to allow children to become US citizens only if one of the parents is a citizen, a green cardholder, or a legal immigrant serving the military.
This story has been updated.
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