A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order redefining birthright citizenship, calling it "clearly unconstitutional " during the first hearing in a case brought by several states to overturn the order.
Judge John Coughenour repeatedly interrupted the Justice Department's legal representative during the hearing to ask how he could consider the decision constitutional.
This was the first hearing in a case filed by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington to halt the executive order. It is one of five lawsuits filed by 22 states and several immigrant rights groups across the country.
The lawsuits include personal testimony from attorneys general, who are U.S. citizens by birth, as well as the names of pregnant women who fear their children will not be able to become U.S. citizens.
Judge Coughenour, appointed by former President Ronald Reagan, began the hearing by asking a series of questions to administration lawyers, saying the order "is unthinkable."
"This order is clearly unconstitutional," Judge Coughenour told Mr. Shumate. The judge went on to say that in nearly four decades, he could not recall hearing any other case where the decision being challenged was so clearly unconstitutional.
Legal representative Shumate said that he respectfully disagreed with him and asked the judge to provide the parties with the opportunity to present all their arguments, instead of issuing a decision to block the implementation of the executive order for a period of 14 days.
Arguing on behalf of the states, Washington Assistant Attorney General Lane Polozola said that "the executive order will impact hundreds of thousands of citizens across the country who will lose their citizenship under this new rule. Births cannot be suspended while the court reviews this issue ," he said.
President Trump's executive order, which he signed on his inauguration day, is set to take effect on February 19. According to one of the lawsuits filed, the order could affect hundreds of thousands of people born in the United States. According to the lawsuit filed in Seattle city court by four states (Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington), in 2022, 225,000 children were born to mothers who were living in the United States illegally and about 153,000 children with both parents in the country illegally.
The Trump administration argued in documents filed Wednesday that states have no basis to challenge the order and that no harm has yet been done, so there is no reason to seek a temporary stay. The administration's lawyers also clarified that the executive order only applies to people born after Feb. 19, when the ruling is set to take effect.
The United States is among about 30 countries, including Canada and Mexico, where citizenship is guaranteed by birth. The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “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.”
Mr. Trump's order states that children of non-U.S. citizens are not under the jurisdiction of the United States and orders federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for children who do not have at least 1 American citizen parent. VOA (A2 Televizion)
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