Federal judge blocks Donald Trump's order on birthright citizenship, Indians in USA get relief

The judge reportedly described the move as an attempt to ignore the country's constitution for political gains.

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle on Thursday put Trump’s order on hold for the duration of a lawsuit brought by four states and an immigrant rights group challenging it, reported the Los Angeles Times.

On Wednesday, another federal judge had blocked the order.

The nationwide preliminary injunction was brought by US District Judge Deborah Boardman.

The order “conflicts with the plain language of the 14th Amendment, contradicts 125-year old binding Supreme Court precedent and runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth,” Boardman said during a hearing on Wednesday as quoted by CNN.

“No court in the country has ever endorsed the president’s interpretation,” she said. “This court will not be the first.”

According to reports, the injunction, which Boardman said would last while the lawsuit against the order proceeds, may be appealed by the administration to a Richmond-based federal appeals court.

Several other challenges to the order are underway across the country, with judges in other states set to consider similar injunctions later this week, reported CNN.

In a bid to stop the executive order, 22 states and other organisations have sued it.

Trump's executive order

The executive order signed by Trump specified that a child born in the USA will be granted citizens if at least one parent must be a US citizen, a legal permanent resident (green card holder), or a member of the US military.

"The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Commissioner of Social Security shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the regulations and policies of their respective departments and agencies are consistent with this order, and that no officers, employees, or agents of their respective departments and agencies act, or forbear from acting, in any manner inconsistent with this order," read the White House order.

What is birthright citizenship?

As per the American Immigration Council website, birthright citizenship is a legal principle under which citizenship is automatically granted to individuals upon birth.

In the United States, birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, the website said.

Is it going to impact Indians?

In case the policy changes then it will impact a large number of Indians who are currently working in the USA on temporary work visas or awaiting green cards since their children born in the USA would not get US citizenship automatically.