A federal judge on Wednesday reinforced a block on President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship for children of migrants without legal status.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, speaking at the conclusion of a hearing in Greenbelt, Maryland, ruled that Trump’s order contradicts “our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth” and likely violates an 1898 Supreme Court precedent.
“The United States Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment,” Boardman said. “In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation. This court will not be the first.”
A separate federal judge in Seattle had previously put Trump’s order on hold, but that ruling is set to expire Thursday, when another hearing will be held. Boardman’s decision, unless overturned on appeal, will remain in place until she issues a final ruling on the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, a process that could take months.
Trump signed the executive order on his first day in office, limiting birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without permanent legal status, beginning with babies born after Feb. 19. The move is part of a broader series of immigration actions taken by the administration in its early weeks.
During the hearing, Eric Hamilton, deputy assistant attorney general for the civil division, argued that the Trump administration’s position aligns with the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, a key precedent in the case.
“We have not taken a position that Wong Kim Ark is bad law. We think it is consistent with the rule that we have laid out for the Citizenship Clause,” Hamilton said.
theHill.com
