A federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday blocked nationwide enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of migrants who illegally entered the United States. Photo by
Activedia/PixabayFeb. 5 (UPI) — A federal judge in Maryland has blocked nationwide enforcement of President Donald Trump‘s executive order ending automatic birthright citizenship for children born to migrants in the United States.
U.S District Court Judge Deborah L. Boardman of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction Wednesday blocking enforcement of Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born in the United States if at least one parent is not either a citizen or a permanent legal resident of the nation.
The injunction is to remain in effect until the federal court rules on the case.
“The executive order conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth,” Boardman said in her ruling on plaintiffs’ motion to block the executive order’s enforcement.
“The United States Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the citizenship clause of the 14thAmendment,” said Boardman, who is an appointee of former President Joe Biden.
“In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation,” she said. “This court will not be the first.”
The five plaintiffs are pregnant women who are not legally recognized immigrants and two non-profits that work with migrants. Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection is one of them.
Because one of the non-profit plaintiffs represents hundreds of pregnant women throughout the nation, Boardman ruled the injunction applies nationwide.
Boardman said Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship likely would be declared unconstitutional.
Before Boardman’s ruling on the plaintiffs’ injunction motion, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Joseph Mead, argued that the 14th Amendment has guaranteed U.S. citizenship for all people born in the United States with only a few exceptions, such as children of foreign diplomats.
Mead said the parents he represents have lived in the United States for decades with no intention of leaving.
Trump administration attorney Eric Hamilton argued the14th Amendment’s intent was not to create a way for undocumented migrants or temporary visitors to ensure U.S. citizenship for their unborn children by giving birth while in the United States.
Boardman issued the nationwide injunction two weeks after a judge in the U.S. District Court for Western Washington state issued a temporary injunction protecting birthright citizenship for 14 days.
Regardless of the outcome of the case before Boardman, the matter likely will be argued before the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., and eventually the Supreme Court upon appeal by either party.
