“Clearly unconstitutional”: The reason a US judge halted Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship directive
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“Clearly unconstitutional”: The reason a US judge halted Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship directive
Birthright citizenship: A district judge has placed a temporary hold on President Trump’s executive order concerning birthright citizenship, deeming it unconstitutional.
Providing significant relief to countless immigrants, a federal judge on Thursday prevented the Trump administration from enforcing the president’s executive order that sought to limit the automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, describing it as “clearly unconstitutional.”
US district judge John Coughenour, who is based in Seattle and was appointed by former Republican President Ronald Reagan, issued a temporary restraining order following a request from four Democratic-led states: Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon. This ruling obstructed the implementation of an order that Trump signed on his first day back in office, marking the outset of legal challenges against his strict immigration policies that are a hallmark of his second term.
What Judge John Coughenour expressed:
“I find it difficult to comprehend how any attorney could assert categorically that this order is constitutional,” the judge commented to a representative from the US Justice Department who was defending Trump's order. “It absolutely baffles me,” he continued.
“I have presided over cases for more than forty years, and I cannot recall another situation where the issue is presented as clearly as this one. This order is blatantly unconstitutional,” Coughenour asserted regarding Trump’s directive.
At 84 years old, Coughenour, who was nominated to the federal bench in 1981, rigorously questioned the DOJ lawyer, Brett Shumate, inquiring whether Shumate genuinely believed the order conformed to the Constitution.
“According to this order, infants born today will not be recognized as US citizens,” remarked Lane Polozola, an assistant attorney general from Washington state, referencing Trump’s policy during the hearing.
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