On Thursday, January 23, a federal judge temporarily prohibited the administration of newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump from enforcing an executive order restricting the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, calling it “absolutely unconstitutional.”
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour of Seattle issued a temporary injunction at the request of four states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—preventing the administration from implementing the order. Trump signed the directive on Monday, January 20, his first day as president.
According to the agency, Judge Coughenour delivered the first legal defeat to Trump’s stringent immigration policy, one of the central elements of his second presidential term.
“It’s obvious that we will appeal,” Trump said regarding Coughenour’s decision.
Trump’s order instructed U.S. agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident.
Coughenour’s injunction halts the nationwide implementation of Trump’s policy for 14 days while the judge considers whether to issue a long-term preliminary injunction. He is set to hear arguments on whether to do so on February 6.
“I find it difficult to see how any member of the bar could unequivocally claim that this order is constitutional,” the agency quoted the judge as saying to the U.S. Department of Justice attorney defending Trump’s order.
