Two federal district courts – one in Maryland and one in Washington – just lately issued injunctions blocking Donald Trump’s government order denying birthright citizenship to youngsters of undocumented immigrants and people within the US on non permanent visas. The Washington decision was written by Decide John Coughenour (a Reagan appointee), and the Maryland one by Decide Deborah Boardman (appointed by Biden). Between them, the 2 rulings do an excellent job of highlighting the weaknesses of Trump’s place on this concern, which works in opposition to the textual content and authentic which means of the Fourteenth Modification, and longstanding precedent. As Decide Boardman summarizes, “[t]he Govt Order flouts the plain language of the Fourteenth Modification to america Structure, conflicts with binding Supreme Courtroom precedent, and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year historical past of citizenship by beginning.”
Motive’s Jacob Sullum has a useful abstract and dialogue of the 2 rulings right here.
I’ve beforehand written about this concern here, right here, and right here. One key level value reiterating is that most of the arguments put ahead by the administration and its supporters would even have allowed denial of birthright citizenship to many previously enslaved blacks (despite the fact that giving them citizenship was the primary objective of the Birthright Citizenship Clause), and to youngsters of everlasting resident authorized immigrants, as properly. The latter is a logical implication of the administration’s argument that birthright citizenship is denied to youngsters of fogeys who, by advantage of being residents of one other nation, owe that authorities “allegiance.”
The administration will enchantment these rulings and the authorized battle will proceed, presumably all the best way to the Supreme Courtroom. To date, nonetheless, courts have forcefully rejected the federal government’s weak arguments.
