Federal Judge Issues Major Ruling in Birthright Citizenship Lawsuit Filed by Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Illinois
A federal judge in Seattle today issued a national temporary restraining order that will prevent federal agencies from stripping people of their rights to citizenship. This lawsuit, brought by Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Illinois challenged President Trump’s executive order to deny birthright citizenship in the United States.
The coalition of states cite the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in this country.
“The administration’s attempt to sidestep the 14th Amendment is a clear violation of the United States Constitution,” said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “No president has the authority to change the Constitution via executive order. If allowed to stand, the President’s order would break more than a century of established law and bring great risk to our other constitutional freedoms.”
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued today’s ruling. It blocks a directive from President Trump that would require federal agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents to children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents and those with temporary visas.
Pending further proceedings in the case, children born in the United States will continue to receive citizenship at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
“While the President has every right to issue executive orders during his time in office, he does not have the authority to arbitrarily deny Americans their constitutional rights,” said Rayfield. “Oregon will always stand up to protect the rights of its citizens.”
