A federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to migrant parents.
US District Court Judge John Coughenour ruled that Trump’s executive order was “blatantly unconstitutional” and issued a restraining order to prevent it from being enforced following a brief 25-minute hearing on Thursday. The order would have ended the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to nearly anyone born in the US.
Trump’s goal was to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. Four states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—petitioned for the order to be paused while the court considers their legal challenge.
During the hearing, Judge Coughenour questioned a Trump administration lawyer about the lack of legal counsel when drafting the executive order and expressed disbelief at the claim that the order was constitutional. The judge described it as “boggling.”
The executive order is now on hold for 14 days pending further legal proceedings. Trump, who resumed his presidency on Monday, has long sought to make this change. His executive order instructed US government departments to deny citizenship to children born to migrants in the US unlawfully or on temporary visas, with the change to apply to children born from February 19 onward.
Reports indicated that the administration might enforce the order by withholding documents, such as passports, from individuals deemed ineligible for citizenship. The judge’s ruling also temporarily halted any enforcement of the order by federal agencies.
The lawsuit filed by the four states challenging the order argues that the 14th Amendment automatically grants citizenship to individuals born in the US and that the president does not have the power to alter the Constitution. The states claim that implementing the order would cause “immediate and irreparable harm” to residents, making many children stateless and subject to removal or detention.
The Department of Justice contended that the states’ case did not justify the “extraordinary measure” of a temporary restraining order, but the judge disagreed. The DOJ argued that the clause “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes children of non-citizens in the US unlawfully, and that the order is part of Trump’s broader efforts to address the immigration crisis at the southern border.
In 2022, 255,000 children were born to undocumented mothers in the US, according to the states’ legal challenge. The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, grants citizenship to anyone born in the US, with very few exceptions such as the children of foreign diplomats. Without a constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote in Congress and approval by the states, the issue is likely to be settled by the courts.
The Department of Justice plans to appeal the ruling, and the case is expected to reach the US Supreme Court. The birthright citizenship amendment was established after the Civil War to address the citizenship of freed slaves. Washington state lawyer Lane Polozola argued that Trump’s order would return the country to “one of our darkest chapters.”
Judge Coughenour, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, has served in the Western District of Washington court since then. The executive order is also facing challenges from 18 other Democratic-led states, the District of Columbia, San Francisco, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
