A federal judge in New Hampshire today issued a preliminary injunction, effectively blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporary resident parents.
The ruling, delivered by U.S. District Judge Joseph LaPlante, applies nationwide and comes amid ongoing legal challenges to the controversial executive order.
Judge LaPlante also certified a class-action lawsuit, encompassing all children nationwide who would be impacted by the order. This decision follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that limited the scope of nationwide injunctions but left open the possibility for such broad relief through class-action litigation.
The executive order, signed earlier this year, aimed to redefine the long-held interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, asserting that children born to parents not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. are not entitled to automatic citizenship. The Trump administration argued this change was necessary to address what it termed “perverse incentives for illegal immigration.”
However, Judge LaPlante, who had previously issued a narrower injunction in a related case, found the government’s arguments unpersuasive. He stated that the deprivation of U.S. citizenship would constitute “irreparable harm” and that his decision to issue the injunction was “not a close call.”
The lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other legal advocacy groups on behalf of pregnant women and parents whose children would be affected. Attorneys for the plaintiffs expressed relief, stating the ruling will “protect every single child around the country from this lawless, unconstitutional and cruel executive order.”
The administration has been granted a seven-day stay to allow for an appeal.
This legal battle is widely expected to reach the Supreme Court, setting the stage for a landmark decision on the future of birthright citizenship in the United States.
