Birthright Citizenship: A Federal Judge Blocked Trump’s Order. On Thursday, January 23, 2025, U.S. District Judge John Coughenour blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order limiting the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States. The judge called the order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Judge John Coughenour issued a temporary restraining order. Four Democratic-led states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—urged this action. The order aims to prevent the administration from enforcing the order Trump signed on Monday, January 20, 2025.
The Ronald Reagan appointee delivered the first legal blow to the strict immigration policies central to Trump’s second presidential term. Trump stated that his administration would appeal Judge Coughenour’s ruling.
Trump’s executive order directed U.S. agencies to stop recognizing the citizenship of children born in the United States if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
What is birthright citizenship?
Birthright Citizenship. Anyone born in the United States is considered a citizen at birth. This derives from the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. It was added to the Constitution in 1868. The amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States. They are also citizens of the State wherein they live.” The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 also defines citizens and includes similar language.
“I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional,” the judge told a U.S. Justice Department lawyer defending Trump’s order. “It just boggles my mind.”
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour
Birthright Citizenship. The states contended that Trump’s order contravened the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which states that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour said of Trump’s policy.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour
Coughenour announced his order after a brief hearing in a crowded courtroom with other judges present. This decision prevents Trump’s policy from being enforced nationwide for 14 days. During this time, the judge considers whether to issue a long-lasting preliminary injunction.
Under Trump’s Birthright Citizenship order, any children born in the United States after February 19 would be liable to deportation. This applies if their parents are not American citizens or lawful permanent residents. These children would also be prevented from obtaining Social Security numbers, automatically blocked from receiving various government benefits, and not able to work lawfully as they grow older.
Birthright Citizenship. “Under this order, babies being born today don’t count as U.S. citizens,” Washington state Assistant Attorney General Lane Polozola, referring to Trump’s policy, told the judge during the hearing.
Justice Department lawyer Brett Shumate argued that Trump’s action was constitutional and called any judicial order blocking it “wildly inappropriate.”
But before Shumate had even finished responding to Polozola’s argument, Coughenour said he had signed the temporary restraining order.
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