A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship for the children of many migrants, a major hit to one of the president’s Day 1 orders.
Trump’s order directly contradicts the Constitution, which guarantees citizenship for all people born within the U.S. under the 14th Amendment.
The order ignited suits from 22 different states as well as civil rights groups who argued the order ran afoul of the law by denoting citizenship based on the immigration status of their parents.
U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, agreed to a request from Washington and three other states, blocking the order from taking effect for 14 days.
“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour told Justice Department attorney Brett Shumate. Coughenour, a Reagan appointee, said he’s been on the bench for more than four decades, and he couldn’t remember seeing another case where the action challenged was so clearly unconstitutional.