Seattle: A federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to limit automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, labeling the policy “blatantly unconstitutional.” On Thursday, Seattle-based US District Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order, following requests from four Democratic-led states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon. The order prevents the Trump administration from enforcing the policy while legal arguments are evaluated.
The executive order, signed by Trump on his first day back in office, aimed to prevent children born in the US from automatically gaining citizenship if neither parent is a US citizen or permanent resident. This would have affected thousands of children born to undocumented parents.
Judge Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, criticized the order, stating that it clearly violated the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on US soil. He stated that the case was one of the clearest instances of an unconstitutional action he had encountered in over four decades of judicial experience.
The Justice Department has expressed plans to appeal the decision. The ruling follows multiple lawsuits from civil rights groups and state attorneys general, arguing that the order undermines the constitutional rights of US-born children. If allowed, the policy could affect over 150,000 newborns annually, preventing them from gaining citizenship, social security numbers, and access to government benefits. The judge will consider further legal arguments on February 6 regarding a longer-lasting injunction.
