Federal Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s Bid To End Birthright Citizenship, Citing 14th Amendment, Historic Legal Precedent
A federal appeals court on Friday dealt a major setback to President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda, ruling that his executive order to end birthright citizenship violates the Constitution and centuries of legal precedent.
Federal Judges Reject Trump’s Executive Order On Birthright Citizenship
The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s injunction blocking the administration from enforcing Trump’s January order, which sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents, reported The Hill.
The three-judge panel wrote that “the lessons of history give us every reason to be wary of now blessing this most recent effort to break with our established tradition of recognizing birthright citizenship.”
The opinion invoked landmark cases, including Dred Scott v. Sandford and United States v. Wong Kim Ark, calling past efforts to restrict citizenship “not a proud one.”
The court said Trump’s attempt to make citizenship “depend on the actions of one’s parents” contradicted the 14th Amendment’s clear language.
State Leaders Praise Appeals Court Ruling Protecting Citizenship Rights
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who led one of the 20 state challenges to the order, praised the decision.
“Today’s decision upholds a nationwide injunction in our lawsuit challenging the President’s attempt to end, with the stroke of a pen, the constitutional right to birthright citizenship,” Bonta said on X on Friday.
He added, “We will continue to oppose this executive order until the President’s attempt to unmake the Constitution is blocked completely.”
Appeals Court Questions Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order
In June, the Supreme Court limited courts’ power to block presidential directives, including Trump’s birthright citizenship policies, though it did not immediately enforce his executive order.
Trump called the ruling a “monumental victory for the Constitution.”
In August, the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals signaled that Trump’s order could be unconstitutional, questioning the Justice Department on why lower courts’ blocks should be overturned.
The order aimed to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children whose parents were neither citizens nor lawful permanent residents, and the appeals court suggested it was likely to be struck down.
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