The left-wing resistance has officially fired its first shot against President Trump’s agenda, and they’re using the courts to do it. A federal judge in Seattle has temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants, throwing a wrench into one of the administration’s boldest immigration reforms.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sided with open borders advocates, ruling in favor of Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—states that claim the 14th Amendment and past Supreme Court rulings guarantee automatic citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
The lawsuit is just one of five currently being brought against the Trump administration by 22 Democrat-controlled states, along with a host of pro-illegal immigration advocacy groups eager to preserve what they call a “right” but what Trump calls an abuse of American generosity.
Trump’s executive order, signed within hours of taking office, takes a clear stance: the 14th Amendment was never intended to apply to so-called “anchor babies.” The order specifically states that U.S. citizenship will not be recognized for individuals whose mothers were unlawfully present in the country or whose parents were not legal residents at the time of birth.
Here’s what the executive order states:
“It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship… to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”
Trump has repeatedly argued that the 14th Amendment’s language—particularly the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”—was never meant to apply to children of illegal aliens. The executive order cites legislative history and legal precedent to back up this position, but unsurprisingly, the left has rushed to the courts to block it.
Of course, this legal battle is far from over. The case is expected to make its way to the Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 6-3 majority. The big question is whether the conservative justices will uphold Trump’s effort to close the birthright citizenship loophole once and for all.
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