A US judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for certain US residents, citing it as unconstitutional. The decision came after a class-action lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of immigrant parents and their infants.
The lawsuit argues that Trump’s order goes against the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which states, “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.”
The judge’s ruling temporarily stops the order from taking effect, allowing the lawsuit to proceed on behalf of the babies who would be affected by the restrictions. Trump’s administration has vowed to fight the decision, with spokesman Harrison Fields describing it as “an obvious and unlawful attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s clear order against universal relief” that “disregards the rule of law by abusing class action certification procedures.” Fields added that the administration would fight “vigorously” against attempts to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement.
This development comes weeks after the Supreme Court introduced limits on universal injunctions issued by federal courts. Despite this, the judge’s decision still allows for certain legal avenues to proceed. Restricting birthright citizenship was one of Trump’s first actions in office, and multiple courts across the US have issued nationwide injunctions as they consider legal challenges to the order.
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority previously sided with Trump in a 6-3 ruling that broadly curtailed judicial power, although the justices did not address the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump’s order had been set to take effect on July 27. The judge has given the government seven days to appeal the recent decision.
In a related context, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently held talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, discussing the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Rubio emphasized the need for a structured peace process, stating, “What we need now is a clear roadmap to conclude this conflict.” The talks highlight the complexities of international diplomacy and the challenges of finding peaceful resolutions to ongoing conflicts.