A federal court is siding with the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine and other organizations and has blocked President Trump’s executive order to abolish birthright citizenship.
U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante of the federal court in Concord, New Hampshire heard arguments between the Department of Justice and the ACLU on Monday, and quickly blocked enforcement of the order.
Attorneys for the Trump administration argued the president is trying to keep a campaign promise by removing incentives for people coming into the country illegally.
A news release by the ACLU of Maine said the executive order was “flouting the Constitution’s dictates, congressional intent, and longstanding Supreme Court precedent.”
Monday’s ruling is the third decision blocking President Trumps order against birthright citizenship, following two similar rulings by judges in Seattle and Maryland last week.
Laplante was nominated by Republican President George W. Bush. He said he wasn’t persuaded by the Trump administration’s defense of the executive order. Laplante said he would issue a longer preliminary injunction later explaining his reasoning.
President Trump issued the order on January 20.
The New Hampshire lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Asian Law Caucus, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and Legal Defense Fund on behalf of New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Make the Road New York.
“Today’s ruling is the latest rebuke of President Trump’s wildly unconstitutional bid to end birthright citizenship,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, who argued the case. “This attempt to deny babies their citizenship is as illegal as it is inhumane, and we will keep fighting until we stop this order for good.”
