A federal judge in Maryland blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to curb birthright citizenship, finding at this preliminary stage in the litigation that the president’s order is likely unconstitutional. Trump’s move was already blocked by a restraining order from a federal judge in Washington state, with the issue being one of many generated by the new administration that are seemingly destined for a Supreme Court resolution.
NBC News reported on Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland said Trump’s order conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent, and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of birthright citizenship. The Biden appointee reportedly said that no court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation and that she wouldn’t be the first.
The 14th Amendment says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Supreme Court precedent going back more than a century has said that a person is a U.S. citizen if they’re born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents.
Last month, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee in Washington state, issued the restraining order while calling Trump’s executive action blatantly unconstitutional. There’s a hearing set for Thursday in that case that could lead to further extending the block. Either way, that case, like the Maryland case, is moving closer toward a possible appeal by the losing party.
Whether it’s in the case from Maryland, Washington state or any others, the Supreme Court could have the last word.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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