President Donald Trump’s order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
In their sprawling 78-page ruling, the panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit wrote they “fully agree” with the decision of a lower-court, which blocked the order nationwide.
“We conclude that the Executive Order is invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment’s grant of citizenship to ‘all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,’” the ruling stated.
The 9th Circuit ruling blocks the Trump administration from enforcing the order that would deny citizenship to children born to people who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily.
The judges wrote: “The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree.”
The Independent has reached out to the White House for comment on Wednesday’s ruling.
It comes after the push was also blocked by a federal judge in New Hampshire, and puts the issue – in which Trump seeks to unilaterally redefine who gets to be a citizen – one step closer to quickly coming back before the Supreme Court.
New Hampshire District Judge Joseph Laplante agreed to grant class-action status to all babies who stood to lose automatic U.S. citizenship when Trump’s order took effect, saying that his decision was “not a close call.”
LaPlante noted that thousands of children would be deprived of their citizenship should Trump’s order go into effect. “That’s irreparable harm, citizenship alone,” he said. “It is the greatest privilege that exists in the world.”
Several other courts have already struck down the president’s attempt to block citizenship from newborn Americans who are born to certain immigrant parents.
But last month the Supreme Court determined those judges went too far by issuing nationwide injunctions instead of applying the rulings to only the states and plaintiffs who sued the administration.
Additional reporting from Alex Woodward.
