Biden-nominated judge slaps nationwide injunction on Trump birthright citizenship order

A Biden-appointed federal judge issued a nationwide injunction on President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship order, arguing that the directive is likely to be found in violation of the Constitution. 

U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman issued her opinion Thursday after agreeing to certify a class-action lawsuit from immigration rights group CASA. 

“The Court finds that the plaintiffs have shown they are entitled to a classwide preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs have established that they are likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim because the Executive Order contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment and conflicts with binding Supreme Court precedent,” Boardman wrote in her ruling. 

“The plaintiffs also have shown that the class representatives and members will suffer irreparable harm — the denial of citizenship — without injunctive relief. Finally, the plaintiffs have established that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh in favor of a preliminary injunction,” she added. “The government will not be harmed by an injunction that maintains the status quo of birthright citizenship, and the plaintiffs will be harmed if the Executive Order is not enjoined pending the outcome of this lawsuit.” 

TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BLOCKED BY ANOTHER FEDERAL APPEALS JUDGE  

Boardman is now the fourth judge to issue a block on the executive order since a ruling from the Supreme Court in June, according to The Washington Post. 

Trump’s order, signed on the first day of his second White House term, directed all U.S. government agencies to refuse to issue citizenship documents to children born to illegal immigrants, or who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen of lawful permanent resident.   

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT RULES AGAINST TRUMP’S BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER 

It was almost immediately blocked by lower courts, before eventually making its way to the Supreme Court, which reviewed the case in May.  

The high court’s 6-3 ruling narrowly focused on the authority of lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions and did not wade into the legality of Trump’s executive order, which served as the legal pretext for the case. 

In the ruling, the justices said plaintiffs seeking nationwide relief must file their cases as a class-action lawsuit — prompting a flurry of action from the ACLU, CASA and other immigrant advocacy groups who amended their filings.