Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump’s Order on Birthright Citizenship

SEATTLE – Less than three days after it was signed, President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship has run into its first legal roadblock.

A federal judge in Washington state has issued a restraining order, temporarily blocking enforcement of Trump’s order.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ruled Thursday in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.

The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won’t become U.S. citizens.

The case was the first to get a hearing before a judge and the 14-day restraining order applies nationally.

What they’re saying:

Judge Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, began Thursday’s hearing by grilling the administration’s attorneys, saying Trump’s executive order “boggles the mind.”

“This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour said, adding that he’s been on the bench for more than four decades and couldn’t remember seeing another case where the action challenged was so clearly unconstitutional.