A second federal judge moved to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship Wednesday, with the judge saying no court has yet sided with the administration on the issue.
U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of President Biden, noted a prior ruling that had paused the implementation of Trump’s order. Boardman argued that citizenship is a “national concern that demands a uniform policy.” The prior ruling only paused implementation of Trump’s order for 14 days, however, while Boardman’s ruling will last through appeal.
“Citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,” she wrote in her ruling.
The decision comes more than a week after U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, also blocked the executive order following a lawsuit by four U.S. states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
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Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Coughenour said during his Jan. 23 ruling that the executive order banning birthright citizenship “boggles the mind,” and told the court he could not remember in his more than 40 years on the bench seeing a case so “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Trump’s order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, 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.”
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It clarifies that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright.
President Trump promised a major immigration crackdown on the campaign trail. (FBI)
States who have challenged the law have argued that the 14th Amendment does in fact guarantee citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the U.S.
Republican attorneys general from 18 states pushed back this week against lawsuits filed by Democrat AGs and legal groups nationwide challenging the citizenship order.
“If someone comes on a tourist visa to have an anchor baby, they are not under that original meaning of the United States Constitution,” Iowa AG Brenna Bird told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. Bird is the lead AG leading an amicus brief filing in support of the executive order on Monday.
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“Oftentimes, when this has happened. It’s the taxpayers that are paying for the health care through Medicaid or through hospitals, paying for care for someone to have a child, or the state child health insurance system as well,” Bird said. “Each state has a system that helps kids without insurance, and so the taxpayers are on the hook here for all the costs.”
Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report
Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.
