Second US judge blocks Trump’s order ending birthright citizenship

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The North News

New Delhi, February 6

A US federal judge has issued a second temporary halt on former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born in the country to undocumented immigrants. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman ruled that no court had endorsed the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment. “This court will not be the first,” she said, according to the US based news outlet The Guardian.

Trump’s order had already been temporarily blocked nationwide following a lawsuit by four states in Washington, where another judge called it “blatantly unconstitutional.” In total, 22 states and several organizations have sued to stop the executive action.

According to BBC, the latest ruling comes two weeks after a federal judge in Seattle imposed a 14-day restraining order, which is set to expire on Thursday when another hearing will be held.

At the heart of the legal battle is the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens. The Trump administration argues that the clause excludes children of undocumented immigrants, framing the order as a necessary step to fix the country’s “broken immigration system” and border security concerns, the news outlet said.