close
Thursday, February 6, 2025

Judge blocks Trump’s order ending U.S. birthright citizenship indefinitely

Mr Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented and temporary immigrants on U.S. soil has suffered another blow.

• February 5, 2025
Trump and black U.S. babies
Trump and babies

President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented and temporary immigrants on U.S. soil has suffered another blow after a Federal District Judge in Maryland placed an indefinite preliminary injunction on the government from moving forward with the decision.

According to the New York Times, five pregnant women who do not have lawful immigration status and two non-profits that work with immigrants had sued Mr Trump at the court immediately after the politician signed an executive order ending automatic citizenship for children of non-permanent immigrants in the country just hours on his return to White House.

During a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Deborah Boardman granted a nationwide injunction on the case, stopping the Trump government from enforcing the order, stating the executive order by Mr Trump was unconstitutional as it violates the plain language of the 14th Amendment, which ensures automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil irrespective of their parents’ immigration status.

“The executive order conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth,” Ms Boardman ruled.

The judge added, “The United States Supreme Court has resoundingly rejected the president’s interpretation of the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. In fact, no court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation. This court will not be the first.”

Ms Boardman also justified her decision to grant the injunction because one of the plaintiffs, represented by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center, has members in every state, including hundreds of pregnant women who could give birth in the coming weeks.

The latest ruling ensures a permanent stay on the executive order after a Seattle Federal District Court judge, John Coughenour, had earlier granted a renewable 14-day nationwide restraining order on the matter after four states, Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, sued Mr Trump on his “unconstitutional” executive order.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

Abubakar Kyari

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Baba Wali, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), in Morocco

Agriculture

Yobe govt. partners Morocco in fertiliser production

Mr Mohammed said the delegation had visited the OCP/Jorf Lasfar fertiliser complex in Morocco and was conducted around the facility.

Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP)

States

HYPREP pledges transparency, accountability in Ogoni cleanup

The project coordinator of HYPREP, Nenibarini Zabbey, reaffirmed this commitment in a statement in Abuja on Thursday.

Trump and Xi Jinping

World

China files complaint with WTO over U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods

New 10 per cent tariffs imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on all Chinese imports took effect on Tuesday.

President Bola Tinubu (Credit: Presidency)

Politics

Tinubu not God in Lagos; we won’t accept Obasa’s return as speaker, GAC member says

A member of the Governance Advisory Council of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos, Muraina Akanbi Taiwo, says moves to reinstate the impeached speaker of the House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa,

World

Netanyahu praises Trump’s plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza

Mr Netanyahu called Mr Trump’s plan, which would involve relocating hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, “the first good idea’’ he had heard.

Hungry Nigerians (Credit: UN)

NationWide

WFP to spend $2.5 billion on fighting hunger, malnutrition in Nigeria

The country director said the WFP’s strategic goal was to ensure a world without hunger in line with the SDGs (1 and 2) on poverty and zero hunger.