Trump's birthright citizenship order to face first US appeals court review
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is slated to hear arguments in Seattle in the administration's appeal of a judge's ruling blocking enforcement nationwide of the executive order, which is a key element of the Republican president's hardline immigration agenda.
Seattle-based U.S. District Judge John Coughenour issued his preliminary injunction on Feb. 6 after declaring Trump's action "blatantly unconstitutional" and accusing the Republican president of ignoring the rule of law for political and personal gain. Federal judges in Massachusetts and Maryland also have issued similar orders blocking the directive nationwide.
Democratic attorneys general from 22 states and immigrant rights advocates in lawsuits challenging Trump's directive argued that it violates the citizenship clause of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, long been understood to recognize that virtually anyone born in the United States is a citizen.
Trump signed his order on January 20, his first day back in office. It directed federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder.
The administration contends that the 14th Amendment's citizenship language does not extend to immigrants in the country illegally or immigrants whose presence is lawful but temporary, such as university students or those on work visas.
The 9th Circuit panel is scheduled to consider the constitutional questions regarding Trump's action.
The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, heard arguments on May 15 in the administration's bid to narrow the three injunctions.
Those arguments did not center on the legal merits of Trump's order, instead focusing on the issue of whether a single judge should be able to issue nationwide injunctions like the ones that have blocked Trump's directive. The Supreme Court, which has yet to rule, could allow the directive to go into effect in large swathes of the country.
More than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship annually if Trump's order takes effect nationally, according to the plaintiffs.
Coughenour, an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, has presided over a legal challenge brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon and several pregnant women.
The 9th Circuit panel hearing arguments on Wednesday includes two judges appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton and one appointed by Trump during his first presidential term.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
28 minutes ago
- The Independent
Zelensky makes key demand to Trump and Putin ahead of crunch peace talks
Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that any peace deal discussed between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump at their upcoming Alaska summit on Friday (15 August) must include Ukraine. Speaking at a youth forum in Ukraine on Wednesday (13 August), Zelensky said that whilst the 'one-on-one' meeting in Anchorage is 'important for [Putin and Trump's] bilateral track', he stressed that 'it is impossible to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine'. 'I truly believe and hope that the US president understands and realises that,' he added. The Ukrainian president said that he 'stands for truth' and will do 'everything to end this war'. Announcing the meeting last week, Trump said that there would be some 'swapping of territories, to the betterment of both'.
Daily Mail
29 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Karoline Leavitt forced to clarify glaring Trump gaffe as White House nails down final details of Putin summit
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt played cleanup for President Donald Trump on Tuesday after the president said twice that he was preparing to go to Russia to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin. Leavitt clarified to the Daily Mail during the White House press briefing on Monday that the meeting would take place in Alaska, despite the president's comments. 'Perhaps there are plans in the future to travel to Russia and on Friday the president will be meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska, as you know,' she said. Trump, however, specifically mentioned that Friday he was going to Russia during his press conference on Monday. 'You know, I'm going to see Putin. I'm going to Russia on Friday,' Trump said in what was widely assumed to be a verbal slip. Then he did it again. 'We're going to Russia. That's going to be a big deal,' he said later in the press conference. Trump's comments about Russia triggered his critics who called out the president for his rhetorical mishaps. Others speculated whether Trump was intentionally referring to Alaska as Russia as a nod to Russia. The state of Alaska was initially Russian territory before the United States purchased it in 1867 for $7.2 million. But Leavitt's response indicates there's no current plan for Trump to go to Russia. The high-stakes Trump-Putin summit is scheduled for Friday afternoon in Anchorage, Alaska. The last time Putin met with an American president was in 2021 at a summit with then-President Joe Biden. Trump last met Putin in 2019 on the sidelines of the G20 in Osaka, Japan. Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine in 2022 after meeting with Biden and Biden refused to meet with Putin after the war began. Friday's summit will be the first time Putin has visited the United States since 2015, when the Russian leader met with then-President Barack Obama at the United Nations General Assembly Meeting in New York City on September 28, 2015.
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Mayor of DC pushes back on Trump's incursion as national guard troops patrol the streets
National guard and federal law enforcement agents were spotted on the streets of Washington DC overnight Wednesday, as part of Donald Trump's campaign to quell a 'crime crisis' in the capital that local officials say does not exist. National guard troops were spotted arriving on the National Mall late Tuesday as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI and Department of Homeland Security fanned out across neighborhoods in the capital, sometimes accompanied by local police officers. Video circulating on local media showed police and federal agents arresting at least one person that evening in Columbia Heights, home to the city's largest Hispanic population. Around 800 national guard troops are expected to be deployed for the mission, defense officials have said. A White House official said the national guard 'is currently providing support to federal law enforcement agents. Their role is to protect federal assets, provide a safe environment for law enforcement officers to make arrests, and deter violent crime with a visible law enforcement presence'. It was unclear how many arrests were made on Tuesday night and by which agencies. The US attorney's office, Metropolitan police department and DEA, whose head has been appointed temporary administrator of the police department, did not immediately respond to requests for comments. After months of maintaining a diplomatic tone in her dealings with Trump, Muriel Bowser changed tack as the federal deployment intensified. During a social media event Tuesday evening, DC's Democratic mayor urged residents and voters 'to protect our city, to protect our autonomy, to protect our home rule and get to the other side of this guy and make sure we elect a Democratic House so that we have a backstop to this authoritarian push'. The Trump administration has said the deployment of troops and first-ever takeover of the city's police department were necessary to fight out-of-control crime, but city officials have disagreed. Data shows that crime rates plunged last year to the lowest levels in three decades, though the capital does have a higher rate of some violent crimes than cities with similar populations. Democrats have condemned Trump's incursion as an authoritarian move intended to distract his supporters from outrage over his refusal to make public files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a one-time friend who has become a fixation of conspiracy theorists. Washington DC is the second US city to which Trump has deployed troops since taking office in January. In June, he ordered US marines and federalized national guard into Los Angeles to quell protests over his immigration crackdown. In an opinion piece published in the Washington Post, Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News personality recently confirmed as Washington DC's US attorney, said Trump had drawn 'much-needed attention to public safety in this city to make DC safe and beautiful'. She added she would push to change laws around criminal sentencing, particularly for the juveniles she blamed for violence in the city. 'Young criminals have been emboldened to think they can get away with committing crime in this city, and, very often, they do. But together with our local and federal partners, our message to them today is: we will identify you, prosecute you and convict you,' Pirro said. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion The 700,000 residents of the federal district have no voting representation in Congress and the president and Congress have the power to meddle in laws passed by the city council. In addition to deploying the guard, Trump took over the police department for the first time ever, exercising a clause in a law outlining the city's governing structure that was passed in 1973. On Monday night, the White House said about 850 officers and agents took part in a 'massive law enforcement surge' and made nearly two dozen arrests.
