Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship

A federal judge in Maryland has delivered a massive blow to President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship by issuing a nationwide preliminary injunction against Trump's order.

On Feb. 5, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman heard arguments over a request by five pregnant undocumented women to block Trump's executive order seeking to reform the meaning of the 14th Amendment in order to exclude children of undocumented immigrants from birthright citizenship.

As part of his first actions since being back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order declaring that children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants after Feb. 19 would no longer be treated as citizens.

Trump's executive order also sought to extend to babies born to mothers who are in the country legally but temporarily, such as tourists, university students or temporary workers, if the father is a non-citizen.

In her ruling, Judge Boardman said Trump's order "conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment," which states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." She said it applies to every baby born in the United States, with a few limited exceptions: children of accredited foreign born diplomats, children born to noncitizens on U.S. territory occupied by an invading army and for a time, children born to Native Americans on reservation, according to The New York Times.

"A nationwide injunction is appropriate and necessary because it concerns citizenship," Judge Boardman said. She added that the U.S. Supreme court has rejected Trump's interpretation of the 14th Amendment and that her court "will not be the first" to endorse it.

Judge Boardman's ruling comes two weeks after a U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle criticized the Department of Justice for attempting to defend what he called a "blatantly unconstitutional" order, issuing a temporary restraining order against Trump's executive order.

The five pregnant women, along with two nonprofits, filed the lawsuit against President Trump last month, arguing that his executive order violated the U.S. Constitution and multiple federal laws.

"If allowed to go into effect, the Executive Order would throw into doubt the citizenship status of thousands of children across the country, including the children of Individual Plaintiffs and Members," the lawsuit said.

According to sources close to the Trump administration, high-ranking members spent months crafting the executive order with the understanding that it would inevitably be challenged and potentially blocked by lower courts, ABC reported.