A federal appeals court on July 23 ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, approving an earlier lower-court decision that had blocked enforcement of the order nationwide.
The three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2–1 in favor of upholding the district court’s decision.
“The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,” the majority wrote.
The ruling comes after a federal judge in New Hampshire also blocked the plan, bringing the issue one step closer to a quick return to the Supreme Court.
The 2-1 ruling preserves Seattle U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour’s decision, which blocked enforcement of the president’s executive order that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States whose parents are in the country illegally or temporarily.
In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court limited the power of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, namely orders from the bench that apply to the whole country.
However, the majority of judges on the 9th Circuit found that one of the exceptions left available by the decision gave the lower court authority to issue a nationwide injunction in this case.
A group of 22 states that opposed implementation of the order argued that without a nationwide order, problems would arise from birthright citizenship only being the law in part of the country.
“We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the States complete relief,” Judge Michael Hawkins and Judge Ronald Gould wrote.
Judge Patrick Bumatay authored a dissent, arguing that states didn’t have standing to sue over the executive order.
Share your thoughts by scrolling down to leave a comment.
