US court says abolition of birthright citizenship law unconstitutional
#News Bureau January 24,2025
A judge has temporarily halted Trump’s attempt to change his birthright citizenship in the US. A federal judge in Seattle has halted Trump’s order for 14 days. US District Judge John Cuffenour has issued a temporary stay order in this regard.
On the very first day of taking oath as President, Trump issued several orders, which are being disputed. But the most controversial among them is the order to deny citizenship to children born in the US. The order states that if neither of the parents is a citizen or a legal permanent resident, the child will not get birthright citizenship. Actually, all of Trump’s orders are an attempt to redefine citizenship laws. But this is the first major legal setback for Trump from Seattle.
Judge Coughenour did not mince words during the hearing in blasting Trump’s executive order as “clearly unconstitutional”. Though the US Justice Department sought to defend the Trump order, the judge expressed disbelief that any legal professional could accept the order as constitutionally valid. Judge Coughenour was once appointed by former Republican US President Ronald Reagan.
Judge Coughenour said, “I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar can clearly state that this order is constitutional. It boggles my mind.” Judge Coughenour dismissed arguments made by US Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate.
Trump’s order to change the birthright citizenship law has been challenged by 22 states. These include four Democratic-led states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states that filed the suit argue that this order is a violation of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The original law guarantees citizenship to any person born on American soil, regardless of the country their parents came to the US from. This law has been accepted by the US Constitution.Trump’s order to change the birthright citizenship law has been challenged by 22 states. These include four Democratic-led states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states that filed the suit argue that this order is a violation of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The original law guarantees citizenship to any person born on American soil, regardless of the country their parents came to the US from. This law has been accepted by the US Constitution.Trump’s order to change the birthright citizenship law has been challenged by 22 states. These include four Democratic-led states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states that filed the suit argue that the order violates the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. The original law guarantees citizenship to anyone born on American soil, regardless of the country their parents came to the US from. This law is upheld by the US Constitution.
How was the birthright citizenship law achieved: The birthright citizenship law in the US was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War. For this, the 14th amendment was made in the Constitution there. This law guarantees citizenship to all persons born in America. This amendment was a response to the Dred Scott decision of 1857, which denied citizenship to enslaved black people and their descendants. Since then, the citizenship clause has been interpreted in this form and no one has dared to tamper with it. The people of America achieved this after a lot of struggle.
The US Supreme Court had interpreted this law 127 years ago and strengthened it further. History has recorded this decision as the USA vs. Wong Kim case. It clearly stated that children born to non-American parents are also entitled to citizenship in the US. Trump’s order wants to reverse this history. But this will not be easy. A glimpse of this has been shown by the Seattle Federal Court. To overturn it, a long judicial investigation will have to be done.
During the court hearing, Washington Assistant Attorney General Len Polozola pointed out a major problem. He told the court that if Trump’s decision is allowed to be implemented, a child born today will not get US citizenship. This order will deprive more than 150,000 newborns born in the US every year of their basic rights. They will lose social security, all government benefits or the opportunity to get legal employment.