A second federal court issued an order today blocking Donald Trump’s administration from undoing the law of the land, the right of those born in the U.S. to obtain citizenship, noting that no court in the country has ever adopted the Republican president’s interpretation of the Constitution.
At today’s hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, District Judge Deborah Boardman sided with the two immigrant rights organizations and the five pregnant women who had appealed, arguing that their children were at risk of being deprived of U.S. citizenship based on their parent’s immigration status, in violation of the Constitution. Boardman, who was appointed by Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, issued an interim order barring Trump’s executive order from being implemented on Feb. 19, as planned, until the issue is resolved.
“Today, almost every baby born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen at birth,” the judge said. “That is the law and tradition of our country. That law and tradition is and will remain the status quo pending resolution of this case,” she added.
The U.S. Justice Department legal adviser asked Boardman for 60 days to respond to the order but did not say whether the Trump administration would appeal.
On January 23, another federal judge, in Seattle, had ordered a 14-day stay of Trump’s executive order. That judge, John Kofenour, called the administration’s order “blatantly unconstitutional”. Three days earlier, Trump called for federal agencies to refuse to grant U.S. citizenship to newborns if neither of their parents is a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident of the country.
Boardman said today that Trump’s interpretation of the Constitution has been “unequivocally rejected” by the Supreme Court in the past. “No court has ever adopted the president’s interpretation. And this court will not be the first,” he said.
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