A federal judge in Washington State granted a preliminary injunction — or an indefinite pause — on President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship on Thursday, following a lawsuit from a group of attorneys general challenging the order.
Under the preliminary injunction, the federal government cannot deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown – who led the attorneys general lawsuit – explained.
Brown noted that the order protects immigrant families from threats of children losing citizenship as the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit was filed January 21 in the U.S District Court for the Western District of Washington, with attorneys general from Oregon, Arizona, and Illinois joining the complaint against the order.
The case was consolidated with a similar lawsuit filed by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project on behalf of two pregnant mothers and a proposed class including pregnant people in Washington who would be impacted by the executive order.
“Our argument is simple and true — birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution,” Attorney General Nick Brown said. “The president may not care about the Constitution or the rule of law, but we do.”
The attorneys general argue that Trump’s executive order violates the 14thAmendment of the U.S. Constitution along with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.
If Trump’s order is allowed to stand, Brown said it would cause thousands of newborns every year to lose their ability to “fully and fairly participate in American society as citizens,” even though the Constitution grants citizenship for people born in the U.S.
In a statement reacting to the judge’s order, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said, “This just proves what we’ve been saying all along. No president can rewrite the Constitution with the stroke of a pen,” adding, “Oregon and 3 other states successfully temporarily blocked this unconstitutional order two weeks ago. I’m pleased this is now blocked indefinitely.”
This marks the second federal judge to indefinitely block the executive order following an injunction ordered by a federal judge in Maryland.
“It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain,” U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said as he announced his ruling, as reported by The Hill, noting the judge previously halted the order for two weeks, which was set to expire Thursday (February 6, 2025). Nexstar/wire
