US Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Bid to End Birthright Citizenship

The controversial executive order, signed shortly after Trump assumed office, instructed federal agencies to withhold citizenship recognition from children born in the U.S. if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.

A federal judge has issued a temporary block on former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to terminate the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, describing the move as “blatantly unconstitutional.”

U.S. District Judge John Coughenour delivered the ruling in a lawsuit spearheaded by Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, asserting that the 14th Amendment and longstanding Supreme Court precedent unequivocally uphold birthright citizenship.

The controversial executive order, signed shortly after Trump assumed office, instructed federal agencies to withhold citizenship recognition from children born in the U.S. if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. This directive has prompted a wave of legal challenges from civil rights organizations and Democratic attorneys general across 22 states, who have labeled the order as flagrantly unconstitutional.

The lawsuits argue that the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, explicitly guarantees U.S. citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the country and subject to its jurisdiction. Legal experts point to the amendment’s clear language: “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.” This interpretation has stood for over a century, cementing the principle of jus soli, or “right of the soil.”

In 2022, approximately 255,000 children were born in the U.S. to mothers without legal immigration status, while 153,000 were born to parents where both lacked legal status, according to statistics cited in the lawsuit filed in Seattle.

Globally, the U.S. is one of around 30 countries, primarily in the Americas, that recognize birthright citizenship. Countries like Canada and Mexico also adhere to this principle.

Critics of Trump’s order contend that it undermines the constitutional framework, while supporters argue it addresses immigration loopholes. Immigrants’ rights groups and Democratic attorneys general have included personal accounts in their legal filings, such as testimonies from individuals born in the U.S. under the 14th Amendment and expectant mothers concerned about their children’s citizenship.