Latest news with #JohnC.Coughenour
Politico
6 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Appeals court finds Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional
'The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order's proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,' the majority wrote. The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship and decried what he described as the administration's attempt to ignore the Constitution for political gain. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The Supreme Court has since restricted the power of lower court judges to issue orders that affect the whole country, known as nationwide injunctions. But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under one of the exceptions left open by the justices. The case was filed by a group of states who argued that they need a nationwide order to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship only being the law in half of the country. 'We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the States complete relief,' Judge Michael Hawkins and Ronald Gould, both appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote. Judge Patrick Bumatay, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. He found that the states don't have the legal right, or standing, to sue. 'We should approach any request for universal relief with good faith skepticism, mindful that the invocation of 'complete relief' isn't a backdoor to universal injunctions,' he wrote. Bumatay did not weigh in on whether ending birthright citizenship would be constitutional. The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment says that all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, are citizens. Justice Department attorneys argue that the phrase 'subject to United States jurisdiction' in the amendment means that citizenship isn't automatically conferred to children based on their birth location alone. The states — Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon — argue that ignores the plain language of the Citizenship Clause as well as a landmark birthright citizenship case in 1898 where the Supreme Court found a child born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a citizen by virtue of his birth on American soil. Trump's order asserts that a child born in the U.S. is not a citizen if the mother does not have legal immigration status or is in the country legally but temporarily, and the father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. At least nine lawsuits challenging the order have been filed around the U.S.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Appeals court finds Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional, upholds block
'The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order's proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree,' the majority wrote. Advertisement The 2-1 ruling keeps in place a decision from U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle, who blocked Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship and decried what he described as the administration's attempt to ignore the Constitution for political gain. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The Supreme Court has since But the 9th Circuit majority found that the case fell under Advertisement 'We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the States complete relief,' Judge Michael Hawkins and Ronald Gould, both appointed by President Bill Clinton, wrote. Judge Patrick Bumatay, who was appointed by Trump, dissented. He found that the states don't have the legal right, or standing, to sue. 'We should approach any request for universal relief with good faith skepticism, mindful that the invocation of 'complete relief' isn't a backdoor to universal injunctions,' he wrote. Bumatay did not weigh in on whether ending birthright citizenship would be constitutional. The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment says that all people born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, are citizens. Justice Department attorneys argue that the phrase 'subject to United States jurisdiction' in the amendment means that citizenship isn't automatically conferred to children based on their birth location alone. The states — Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon — argue that ignores the plain language of the Citizenship Clause as well as a landmark birthright citizenship case in 1898 where the Supreme Court found a child born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a citizen by virtue of his birth on American soil. Trump's order asserts that a child born in the U.S. is not a citizen if the mother does not have legal immigration status or is in the country legally but temporarily, and the father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. At least nine lawsuits challenging the order have been filed around the U.S. Advertisement Associated Press writer Rebecca Boone contributed to this story.
Boston Globe
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Federal appeals court leaves block on Trump's birthright citizenship order
The appeals court said the government had not made a compelling argument that its case was likely to succeed. Advertisement The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night. At least four federal judges have issued injunctions blocking the president's executive order. Trump's order instructed the government to stop recognizing as citizens any children who are born on U.S. soil to parents who lack permanent legal status. In issuing an injunction two weeks ago blocking the executive order, Judge John C. Coughenour of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington wrote that the president 'cannot change, limit or qualify this Constitutional right via an executive order.' This article originally appeared in
Axios
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Axios
⚖️ Birthright order blocked
President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is "blatantly unconstitutional," a federal judge in Seattle ruled yesterday, temporarily blocking it nationwide, multiple outlets reported. The big picture: The decision came a day after the president offered his first defense of the order, which seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents and undocumented immigrants. The president's order would also extend to parents in the country legally but temporarily, like foreign students, workers or tourists. Driving the news: U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sided for now with Washington, which led a lawsuit that was joined by Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. They had argued the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law guarantee the right to birthright citizenship. State of play: The judge's ruling blocks Trump's order from taking effect for now while the court considers the case. But, in granting the motion, the court agreed the states' lawsuit is likely to prevail, per a news release from the Washington attorney general's office. What they're saying: "This unconstitutional and un-American executive order will hopefully never take effect," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a written statement. "Birthright citizenship makes clear that citizenship cannot be conditioned on one's race, ethnicity or where their parents came from." Read more
Washington Post
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Federal judge: Trump ignoring rule of law for ‘political or personal gain'
A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday blasted President Donald Trump's commitment to the rule of law, saying he is trampling the Constitution to pursue 'political or personal gain.' U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour offered his commentary while becoming the second federal judge in two days to issue a nationwide injunction that blocks the Trump administration from moving forward on an executive order aimed at curbing birthright citizenship.
