A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a temporary nationwide block Thursday on President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship — the latest court decision to overturn the executive branch’s orders.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante, a George W. Bush appointee, ruled that depriving people of citizenship would constitute “irreparable harm” and granted class certification for “those deprived of citizenship.”
“The preliminary injunction is just not a close call to the court,” Laplante claimed during the hearing. “The deprivation of US citizenship and an abrupt change of policy that was longstanding … that’s irreparable harm.”
Laplante described birthright citizenship as “the greatest privilege that exists in the world.”
The judge stayed his order for seven days to give the Trump administration time to appeal. Trump’s legal team has indicated they want the Supreme Court to evaluate the merits of the birthright citizenship order during its next term, which begins October 6.
The class-action lawsuit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a pregnant illegal immigrant and illegal immigrant parents and their infants. Laplante certified class-action status only for the babies who would be affected by the restrictions, not for the parents.
“This is going to protect every single child around the country from this lawless, unconstitutional and cruel executive order,” said Cody Wofsy, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney with the far-Left ACLU.
“The Supreme Court’s decision did not remotely suggest otherwise, and we are fighting to make sure President Trump cannot trample on the citizenship rights of a single child,” Wofsy added.
Trump signed the executive order on January 20, his first day back in office, declaring that only children who have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident would be automatically granted citizenship. The order directs all U.S. government agencies to refuse to issue citizenship documents to children born to illegal immigrants who do not meet these criteria.
The order also denies citizenship to children whose mothers are temporarily in the United States, including those visiting under the Visa Waiver Program or as tourists, or who are students and whose fathers are not citizens or lawful permanent residents.
Trump has argued that birthright citizenship has been abused and ushered in an era of “birth tourism,” in which foreign nationals have babies in the United States to give their children citizenship.
The Constitution’s 14th Amendment 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.”
More than 22 Democrat-controlled states and illegal immigrant rights groups challenged the order in January, arguing it violates the 14th Amendment and is both unconstitutional and “unprecedented.” The order was immediately blocked by lower courts before making its way to the Supreme Court for review in May.
Federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington had initially issued sweeping universal injunctions to block the order from taking effect. However, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in late June that lower courts lack the authority to issue universal injunctions, a practice that has become more frequent in recent decades.
The high court left open the possibility of national blocks against presidential actions when class-action lawsuits are filed, which allow plaintiffs to sue on behalf of a larger group of people. The Supreme Court did not weigh in on the merits of Trump’s order.
Justice Samuel Alito warned lower courts in a concurring opinion against loosening their standards when certifying classes in class-action lawsuits.
“These requirements are more than ‘a mere pleading standard,’ … and a hasty application of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure can have drastic consequences, creating ‘potential unfairness’ for absent class members and confusion (and pressure to settle) for defendants,” Alito wrote.
The Supreme Court’s decision triggered a new round of lawsuits from the ACLU and other illegal immigration advocacy groups, who rushed to re-file cases in federal courts in Maryland and New Hampshire following the high court’s ruling.
Justice Department officials told a federal judge last week they plan to begin enforcing Trump’s birthright citizenship order as early as July 27, recognizing a 30-day stay included in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Attorneys for the Department of Justice argued that the relief the plaintiffs were seeking was too broad and challenged whether the requirements for class-action status had been met. The department also argued that the request for the preliminary injunction and class status were premature.
Before Thursday’s hearing, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said: “The Trump Administration is committed to lawfully implementing the President’s Executive Order to protect the meaning and value of American citizenship and which restores the Fourteenth Amendment to its original intent.”
After the hearing, the Department of Justice referred to a previous statement from Attorney General Pam Bondi that followed another judge’s order in a separate immigration case, saying a “rogue district court judge is already trying to circumvent the Supreme Court’s recent ruling against nationwide injunctions.”
“The American people see right through this,” Bondi’s statement said, adding that Justice Department attorneys will continue to fight for Trump’s agenda to secure the U.S. border.