Emphasizing the significance of the case, the judge added: “A nationwide injunction is appropriate and necessary because it concerns citizenship.”
In her ruling, delivered on Wednesday, February 5, Judge Boardman determined that Trump’s executive order “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment.”
“The U.S. Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the citizenship clause,” she stated.
“In fact, no court has endorsed the president’s interpretation, and this court will not be the first.”
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs’ attorney Joseph Mead remarked: “The executive order’s departure from settled law is so abrupt … it is such a departure from what we’ve been doing for over a century. Being a citizen is the foundation for so many rights.”
At the same time, the Department of Justice defended the executive order, arguing that it should proceed into law.
“Text, history, and precedent support what common sense compels: the Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to, inter alia: the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws,” they stated, according to ABC News.
Prior to today’s ruling, Trump’s executive order had already been temporarily blocked by US District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle.
