A federal judge in Boston has issued a ruling blocking an executive order from President Donald Trump that aimed to end birthright citizenship for children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally. This marks the fourth judge to do so, following similar rulings in New Hampshire, Seattle, and Maryland.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin emphasized that the Constitution grants birthright citizenship broadly, including to individuals within the categories described in the president's executive order. The case was brought by Democratic attorneys general from 18 states and is one of nine lawsuits challenging the birthright citizenship order.
The attorneys general stated that the president cannot rewrite the Constitution with a stroke of a pen and emphasized that Trump is not above the law. In Seattle, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour criticized the administration for attempting to ignore the Constitution by trying to change it through an executive order.
Another federal judge in Maryland issued a nationwide pause on the order in a separate case involving immigrant rights groups and pregnant women. The Trump administration has indicated that it will appeal this ruling to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The attorneys general argue that birthright citizenship is a constitutional principle and that Trump lacks the authority to issue the order, which they deem as an unlawful attempt to strip American-born children of their citizenship based on parentage.
The lawsuits center around the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War. The Trump administration contends that children of noncitizens are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and therefore not entitled to citizenship, a claim disputed by the states' attorneys.
Birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli or 'right of the soil,' is applied in about 30 countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Judge Sorokin's order also applies to a similar case in Boston brought by Lawyers for Civil Rights on behalf of expectant mothers affected by the executive order.
