A federal judge has temporarily blocked United States President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the country’s constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship.
US district judge John C Coughenour on Thursday, January 23, ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th amendment and supreme court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.
The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country.
Signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, the order is slated to take effect on 19 February.
The lawsuits argue that the 14th amendment to the US constitution guarantees citizenship for people born and naturalized in the US, and states have been interpreting the amendment that way for a century.
The Democratic officials also filed a request asking the court to put the case on a fast track and rule on whether to block enforcement before it takes effect.
