US appeals court declared that President Donald Trump’s directive to limit birthright citizenship was unconstitutional, reinforcing a lower court’s decision to halt the nationwide order.
The directive has faced extensive legal challenges over the months and is currently suspended by a federal court amid ongoing litigation.
Last month, the Supreme Court determined that individual judges likely exceeded their authority by issuing broad injunctions against several of Trump’s policies, including the attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship.
Multiple district judges had blocked Trump’s effort to modify the long-established constitutional provision that grants automatic citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
However, the Ninth District Court of Appeals found that the Seattle district judge’s injunction did not amount to judicial overreach.
Judge Ronald Gould stated, “We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction to provide the States complete relief.”
Gould noted that restricting the injunction to state levels would be as ineffective as not blocking the order entirely, due to complications arising from differing citizenship rules across states.
The appeals court also determined that Trump’s birthright order violated the US Constitution’s text.
“The district court rightly decided that the Executive Order’s interpretation, which denies citizenship to many born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully concur,” Gould wrote.
Trump’s executive order states that children born in the US to parents who are undocumented or on temporary visas would not automatically be granted citizenship—representing a significant reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Although the current Supreme Court, which holds a 6-3 conservative majority, refrained from ruling on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order last month, it addressed the concept of nationwide injunctions, something Trump has claimed as a “giant win.”
The Supreme Court also left the door open for class-action lawsuits against the government to potentially block executive orders.
Earlier this month, a federal judge granted class-action status to any child that could be denied citizenship under Trump’s directive, issuing a preliminary halt to the order as legal proceedings continue.
