A US federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that denies the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States.
Labeling it ‘blatantly unconstitutional’, US District Judge John Coughenour granted a temporary restraining order at the request of four Democratic-led states – Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon – blocking the administration from implementing the order. This development occurs merely three days after Trump enacted the executive order on his initial day back in office.
Trump’s executive order had instructed US agencies to deny recognition of citizenship for children born in the US if both their mother and father are not US citizens or lawful permanent residents.
ALSO READ: Kejriwal’s additional security revoked by Punjab Police. Here’s why
“I am having trouble understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this order is constitutional,” the judge told a US Justice Department lawyer defending Trump’s order. “It just boggles my mind.”
“I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order,” Coughenour said of Trump’s policy.
