Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

Judge Blocks Trump's Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

A federal judge in Maryland has temporarily blocked President Trump's executive order that aimed to redefine the 14th Amendment's clause on birthright citizenship. Judge Deborah L. Boardman granted a temporary restraining order after a group of 16 pregnant women sued the Trump administration.

Judge Boardman stated that Trump's order "runs counter to our nation's 250-year history of citizenship by birth" and likely violates Supreme Court precedent. She emphasized that no court in the country has ever endorsed the president's interpretation of the 14th Amendment.

This lawsuit is among several similar challenges to the order, which is expected to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Last month, a judge in Washington state also criticized the order as "blatantly unconstitutional."

The plaintiffs in the Maryland case fear that the order could revoke their child's constitutional rights and leave their future children in a stateless limbo. They argue that the 14th Amendment was specifically designed to ensure that no one, including the President, could deny citizenship to children born in America.

If Trump's order were allowed to go into effect, people born in the United States could be denied passports and Social Security numbers, jeopardizing their ability to travel, work, and receive government benefits. The 14th Amendment's citizenship clause states that "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."

Trump's order seeks to deny citizenship to newborn children in the United States if their parents are "unlawfully" present or have "lawful but temporary" status in the country. However, Judge Boardman's decision will remain in place while the legal battle plays out, unless overturned by an appeals court. Several judges reviewing challenges to Trump's birthright citizenship order are expected to issue more decisions soon on whether to block it.