A federal judge Wednesday furthered a block of President Trump’s executive order preventing the children of migrants without legal status from receiving birthright citizenship. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman at the conclusion of a hearing in Greenbelt said Trump’s order “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth” and likely violates an 1898 Supreme Court decision on the issue. “The United States Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment,” Boardman said. “In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation. This court will not be the first.” A separate federal judge in Seattle previously put Trump’s executive order on hold. But that ruling will expire Thursday, when that judge will hold another hearing. Boardman’s ruling, unless overturned by an appeals court, will remain intact until she can issue a final ruling on the merits of the plaintiffs’ constitutional claims, which is likely to take months. Trump on his first day in office signed the executive order narrowing birthright citizenship so that it doesn’t extend to children born on U.S. soil to parents without permanent legal status, beginning with babies born Feb. 19. It is part of a flurry of immigration actions Trump has taken during his first few weeks in office. Eric Hamilton, deputy assistant attorney general for the civil division, insisted at the hearing that the Trump administration’s position aligned with the 1898 Supreme Court precedent central to the case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
via thehill: Judge cements block on Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship
