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By Emma Paterson
Cronkite News
WASHINGTON – At the behest of Arizona and three other states, a federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil without at least one parent who’s an American citizen or green card holder.
Senior U.S. District Court Judge John Coughenour was the first judge to hear and decide on Trump’s controversial executive order reinterpreting the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. Nearly half the states have challenged the order that Trump signed on his first day back in office.
Coughenour said that in his 40 years as a judge, he has “never seen something so blatantly unconstitutional.”
He issued a 14-day temporary restraining order, meaning no federal or state government can proceed with preparing for the change in citizenship rules.
“No president can change the Constitution on a whim and today’s decision affirms that,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement.
“This is the first of many wins,” Attorney General Nick Brown of Washington said shortly after the block was announced.
Arizona went to court on Tuesday with Washington, Illinois and Oregon. Eighteen other states separately challenged Trump’s order in federal court.
“Today’s ruling … is a win for the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution,” Mayes said.
Since Coughenour has placed the restraining order, the next step is an order for a preliminary injunction that would prevent Trump’s order to go into effect while the case moves through the courts.
If Trump’s order survives a court challenge, babies born on U.S. soil would need at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident – a green card holder – for automatic citizenship.
There were 153,000 infants born to immigrant parents in 2022, including 3,400 in Arizona, according to data compiled by the Migration Policy Institute.
During a press conference after Coughenour’s decision was announced, Brown said he sees no reason why a federal appeals court or the U.S. Supreme Court would reach a different decision.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, embraced news of the judge’s order, saying striking down Trump’s effort to overturn the traditional definition of birthright citizenship “shouldn’t be complicated.”
The League of United Latin American Citizens applauded the court ruling. “Any child born on U.S. soil has a right to be called a U.S. citizen, and that right has been longstanding and irrevocable,” said CEO Juan Proaño.
“It’s going to be a long road,” he said.
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
