A US district judge of Seattle, Judge John Coughenour blocked an executive order that would get rid of birthright citizenship. Trump and his allies are trying to redefine the constitution, in particular the 14th amendment, which is a civil war amendment that states that anyone who is born in the United States is a United States citizen. The intention of the law in 1868 was to make right a decision by the court prior to the civil war, the Dred Scott decision in 1857, to guarantee that Black people and anyone else affected would in fact be US Citizens, and that a was something that was enshrined into the Constitution. Previously, enslaved Black people were not free and did not get all their rights.
DOJ Claimed It was Needed to Target Broken Immigration System
The US Department of Justice argued that the measure was necessary to target the country’s broken immigration system. Politico said that Brett Schumate, the head of the DOJ’s civil division said there was no need for action to be taken since the EO didn’t take effect until Feb 19th. Coughenour, a Reagan appointee was bewildered that the Trump administration was even able to get attorneys to defend the executive order. The lawsuit was brought by Arizona, Illinois, Washington, Oregon and Washington. In another lawsuit a judge scheduled a conference on Thursday. The DOJ lawyer there said it was too soon to rule on anything too.
Judge John Coughenour Delayed the EO
Judge Coughenour delayed the executive order by 14 days and wrote that the plaintiffs have a high likelihood to succeed. It affects the affected groups by the executive order with their ability to access medical care and other social services. Politico reported that this issue is likely to be taken up by the Supreme Court. On the Kasie Hunt show, guests have mentioned there will be some Executive Orders that stick, but, a number such as this one will be challenged.
Having on a government form that sex is to be used instead of gender for instance is something that would likely be able to hold constitutional muster, whereas the consensus in this issue seems clear cut that the 14th amendment says anyone born in the US is a US citizen and it does not give room for a President to define the amendment in a different way that is stated by the constitution.
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