A federal appeals court has struck down former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants and individuals on temporary visas.
In a 2-1 decision delivered on Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling that had blocked nationwide enforcement of the controversial order.
Court: Executive Order Violates 14th Amendment
The appellate court agreed with U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle, who previously ruled that the order’s interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was 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 court’s opinion stated.
Despite a U.S. Supreme Court precedent generally discouraging nationwide injunctions from lower courts, the 9th Circuit ruled that an exception applied, allowing a universal block of the order to prevent legal chaos across state lines.
States Sued to Prevent Citizenship Confusion
The legal challenge was brought by multiple U.S. states, who argued that allowing the executive order to be enforced in some jurisdictions and not others would lead to inconsistencies in citizenship status and rights across the country.
Judges Michael Hawkins and Ronald Gould, both appointed by former President Bill Clinton, voted to affirm the lower court’s ruling. Judge Patrick Bumatay, a Trump appointee, dissented — not on constitutional grounds, but on the belief that the states lacked standing to sue.
What the 14th Amendment Says
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
However, attorneys from the Department of Justice argued that the clause does not automatically extend citizenship to children born to individuals without legal status or permanent residency — a position the court ultimately rejected.
The Trump administration currently faces at least nine lawsuits nationwide over this executive action, with legal experts anticipating that the issue may eventually make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
