New hampshire judge to hear arguments on class action against Trump's birthright citizenship order
Tens of thousands of babies and their parents may be exposed to the order's myriad harms in just weeks and need an injunction now, lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in court documents filed Tuesday.
At issue is the Constitution's 14th Amendment, which states: 'All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.' The Trump administration says the phrase 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' means the US can deny citizenship to babies born to women in the country illegally, ending what has been seen as an intrinsic part of US law for more than a century. Prior misimpressions of the citizenship clause have created a perverse incentive for illegal immigration that has negatively impacted this country's sovereignty, national security, and economic stability, government lawyers wrote in the New Hampshire case. 'The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to … the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws.'
Legal battles continue in multiple states. Several federal judges have issued nationwide injunctions stopping Trump's order from taking effect, but the US Supreme Court limited those injunctions in a June 27 ruling that gave lower courts 30 days to act. With that time frame in mind, opponents of the change quickly returned to court to try to block it. New Jersey and the more than a dozen states joining its case in Massachusetts federal court have asked the judge to determine if the nationwide injunction in their case could still apply under the high court's ruling. The judge has scheduled a hearing for July 18. 'Everybody knows there's a 30-day clock, so our hope is that we get an answer prior to the end of the 30-day clock,' New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin told The Associated Press in a recent interview.
In a Washington state case before the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, the judges have asked the parties to write briefs explaining the effect of the Supreme Court's ruling. Washington and the other states in that lawsuit have asked the appeals court to return the case to the lower court judge. As in New Hampshire, the plaintiff in Maryland seeks to organize a class-action lawsuit that includes every person who would be affected by the order. The judge set a Wednesday deadline for written legal arguments as she considers the request for another nationwide injunction from CASA, a nonprofit immigrant rights organization. Ama Frimpong, legal director at CASA, said the group has been stressing to its members and clients that it is not time to panic. 'No one has to move states right this instant,' she said. 'There's different avenues through which we are all fighting again to make sure that this executive order never actually sees the light of day.'
The New Hampshire plaintiffs, referred to only by pseudonyms, include a woman from Honduras who has a pending asylum application and is due to give birth to her fourth child in October. She told the court the family came to the US after being targeted by gangs. 'I do not want my child to live in fear and hiding. I do not want my child to be a target for immigration enforcement,' she wrote. 'I fear our family could be at risk of separation.' Another plaintiff, a man from Brazil, has lived with his wife in Florida for five years. Their first child was born in March, and they are in the process of applying for lawful permanent status based on family ties – his wife's father is a US citizen. 'My baby has the right to citizenship and a future in the United States,' he wrote.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Putin urges Iran to take ‘zero enrichment' nuclear deal with US: Report
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told US President Donald Trump and Iranian officials that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, Axios reported on Saturday, citing sources.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
White House Escalates Pressure Campaign on Federal Reserve by Targeting Its Headquarters Renovation
The White House is trying to turn the Federal Reserve into a poster child for wasteful spending, criticizing an expensive renovation at the central bank's headquarters as President Donald Trump pursues an extraordinary pressure campaign to lower interest rates. The latest step came Thursday when Russ Vought, Trump's top budget adviser, sent a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell saying the president is 'extremely troubled' that plans may have violated government building rules with an 'ostentatious overhaul." Trump also named two close aides — James Blair, a deputy chief of staff, and Will Scharf, the staff secretary who furnishes the president with executive orders for his signature — to the National Capital Planning Commission, an obscure panel that could provide another avenue to increase scrutiny. Blair said he would be 'requesting a review of all previous and current building plans' and suggested that Powell wasn't honest while testifying to Congress about the renovations last month. If Powell isn't truthful, Blair wrote on social media, 'how else is the American Public to maintain confidence that its monetary policy manager is acting in their interests?' Taken together, the latest steps amount to an escalating effort to dislodge Powell from his position as chairman before his term ends next May. It's an unprecedented attempt to reshape the Federal Reserve's traditional role as an autonomous arbiter of US monetary policy. If successful, Trump will have expanded his influence to yet another corner of American government that was once seen as beyond the reach of political pressure, but he will have also jeopardized the independence that has made the central bank a foundational player in the US economy. On Wednesday, Trump said Powell 'should resign immediately' so 'we should get somebody in there that's going to lower interest rates.' He suggested that he'd rather have Scott Bessent, his Treasury secretary, as a replacement. Powell has resisted Trump's pressure, largely out of concern that Trump's tariff plans could increase costs for American consumers. If rates are lowered too aggressively, it could lead to a resurgence of inflation. But Trump insists that inflation is no longer a problem, and a rate cut would help make mortgages, auto loans and other forms of consumer debt cheaper. Trump has also said it would allow the US government to finance its debt more cheaply, a pressing concern as legislation signed by the president is poised to increase the federal deficit by extending tax cuts. 'LOWER THE RATE!!!' Trump wrote on social media on Thursday as he continued a near-daily drumbeat of criticism. However, there's no guarantee that financial markets will reduce rates on government debt even if the Fed bows to Trump's wishes. Such a situation could lead to higher interest costs for consumers — a reminder of how monetary missteps may backfire. Powell was nominated to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors by President Barack Obama, then made chairman by Trump during his first term. But in his second term, Trump turned Powell — who has sought to avoid politics and refrains from responding directly to the president— into one of his primary antagonists. Trump has said that he wouldn't directly oust Powell — 'I don't know why it would be so bad, but I'm not going to fire him,' he said last month. The Supreme Court said in May that it could block such a step. However, Trump's allies have found other ways to make Powell uncomfortable. Bill Pulte, the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, also accused Powell of lying to Congress about the renovations. 'I am asking Congress to investigate Chairman Jerome Powell, his political bias, and his deceptive Senate testimony, which is enough to be removed 'for cause,'' he said last week. Pulte said the situation 'stinks to high heaven.' Vought, in his own letter, said the called the initial renovation plans featuring rooftop terrace gardens, VIP dining rooms and premium marble an 'ostentatious overhaul.' Vought also suggested that Powell misled Congress by saying the headquarters had never had a serious renovation, saying that an update to its roof and building systems that was completed in 2003 counts as a 'comprehensive' renovation. Fed officials did not respond to an email seeking a response to the letter. Powell said in Senate testimony last month that some of the elements in the 2021 plan such as the dining rooms and rooftop terraces are no longer part of the project for the 90-year-old Marriner S. Eccles Building. The debate over the renovation could set up a legal battle between the White House and the Fed, which under the law is allowed to use its own judgment to establish 'suitable' and 'adequate' quarters for its operations. Sung Won Sohn, a finance and economics professor at Loyola-Marymount University, said 'it's good that the central bank budget is coming under review and scrutiny.' However, he warned against using such issues to challenge the Fed's independence. If that's compromised, he said, it's 'bad for the economy, that's bad for inflation expectations and therefore long term inflation.'
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump interest in Russia sanctions raises Ukraine allies' hopes
A bipartisan US bill that would hit Russia with sanctions in a bid to pressure Moscow into good-faith peace negotiations with Ukraine has gained momentum this week in Congress, but it still lacks the presidential push it needs to get over the finish line. Now, Ukraine's supporters in Washington and Kyiv, who have for months hoped for President Donald Trump to throw his weight behind the bill, are anxiously awaiting what the Republican president has said will be a 'major statement' on Russia on Monday. Trump, who vowed during his election campaign to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has given no details on what his planned announcement would entail, but over the past few weeks he has grown increasingly and publicly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his reluctance to accept a ceasefire and the growing civilian death toll of Russian attacks. On Tuesday, Trump approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine. Two days later, he came closer than ever to endorsing the sanctions bill, although he has not yet signed off on the legislation's text, according to a person with knowledge of his thinking. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters earlier in the week that the Senate could vote on the bill this month. Mike Johnson, the top House Republican, has expressed similar optimism, while Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have privately told European diplomats that the bill will move imminently, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. 'The Senate will move soon on a tough sanctions bill – not only against Russia – but also against countries like China and India that buy Russian energy products that finance Putin's war machine,' Graham wrote on X on Tuesday. Still, it was unclear if Trump had given up on pushing for diplomacy with Russia. And the extensive veto power on sanctions that the White House is demanding could render the bill more symbolic than substantive, some supporters acknowledge. Speaking to reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Friday following his second in-person meeting with Russian Foreign Sergei Lavrov, Rubio said 'a new idea' was discussed that he would be taking back to Trump for further consultations. He declined to give further details. 'That new concept is – this new approach is not something that automatically leads to peace, but it could potentially open the door to a path,' Rubio said. But he also reiterated Trump's frustration over Moscow's unwillingness to be more flexible and said Americans had told the Russians weeks ago that a sanctions bill could well pass. Work ongoing The bill, whose lead sponsors are Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, would levy extensive sanctions against various Russian individuals, government bodies and financial institutions. It would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly urged Ukraine's Western allies to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to force the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire as a step towards reaching an end to the war, now 40 months old. Work on the bill has picked up pace over the last week, according to two US officials. One person familiar with Trump's thinking said the text still needs work. The current version, that person said, does not give the president enough flexibility to carry out his foreign policy agenda independent of Congress. The White House was working with Congress and the bill's sponsors to ensure it would be 'an enhancement to the president's foreign policy objectives,' that person added. One person with knowledge of the drafting process said congressional staff had been ironing out technical issues in recent days, such as how to keep any sanctions from affecting the operations of the US embassy in Moscow. A spokesperson for Graham told Reuters the bill would probably not come to the floor until the week of July 21 at the earliest, due to other legislative priorities. The House of Representatives, which will need to vote on the measure, leaves for August recess in two weeks, meaning floor time is at a premium. That is particularly true if a Trump request to slash $9.4 billion in spending on foreign aid and public broadcasting - which passed the House and is currently in the Senate - heads back to the House following any changes. Some supporters of the bill acknowledge that the legislation is largely symbolic, given that Trump would have broad authority to veto the sanctions, and in any case could simply issue sanctions from the executive branch if he wishes.
