Federal appeals court weighs Trump birthright citizenship order as admin outlines enforcement details

A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments Friday afternoon in a challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship in the U.S., one of several lower court cases that took shape after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in June. 

The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit agreed this summer to hear arguments in two consolidated cases centered on the matter, O. Doe. v. Trump, and the State of New Jersey v. Trump, joining several other appeals courts in reviewing the legality of Trump’s executive order.

The hearing comes roughly five weeks after the Supreme Court partially sided with the Trump administration in a case centered on the birthright citizenship order. Justices narrowed when lower courts can issue so-called “universal injunctions” blocking the president’s orders from taking effect nationwide. 

Trump signed his birthright citizenship executive order on his first day in office. It seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER

Instead, the language put forth by the Trump administration, and subsequently blocked, would have clarified that individuals born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright.

The Supreme Court declined to rule on the merits, instead giving the Trump administration 30 days to outline how it would enforce the order — effectively punting the issue back to the lower courts. So far, the administration hasn’t found much success there.

A federal judge in New Hampshire issued a nationwide injunction last month blocking Trump’s order from taking force, and certified as a class all infants born in the U.S. who would be denied citizenship under the order. 

Arguments before the First Circuit come just one week after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also blocked Trump’s birthright citizenship order from taking force nationwide. 

Judges on the Ninth Circuit voted 2-1 to block the order, siding with the Democratic-led states in ruling it unconstitutional.

They also ruled it “is impossible to avoid this harm” caused by the order “absent a uniform application of the citizenship clause throughout the United States,” prompting them to issue the nationwide injunction. 

“The district court below concluded that a universal preliminary injunction is necessary to provide the states with complete relief,” U.S. Circuit Judge Ronald Gould, writing for the Ninth Circuit majority, said in the ruling.

“We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing a universal injunction in order to give the states complete relief.”

It’s unclear how judges on the First Circuit will rule. But their oral arguments come days after the Trump administration detailed new specifics on how it plans to enforce its order in question. 

Guidance from roughly half a dozen U.S. agencies outlines these new requirements for parents. One document published by the Social Security Administration outlines new requirements parents will need to meet to prove their child is a U.S. citizen at birth.  

“With respect to citizenship, an SSN applicant may currently demonstrate U.S. citizenship by providing a birth certificate showing a U.S. place of birth,” a document from SSA said. 

“Once the EO takes effect, a birth certificate showing a U.S. place of birth will not be sufficient documentary evidence of U.S. citizenship for persons born after the EO takes effect.”

The policy, which remains halted by the lower courts, is widely unpopular. 

More than 22 U.S. states and immigrants’ rights groups have sued the Trump administration to block the change to birthright citizenship, arguing in court filings that the executive order is both unconstitutional and “unprecedented.”

And to date, no court has sided with the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship, though multiple district courts have blocked it, including in wake of the Supreme Court ruling, from taking effect.

This is a developing news story. Check back soon for updates.