A New Hampshire federal judge has again halted President Donald Trump's executive order that sought to restrict birthright citizenship, even though there was a recent US Supreme Court decision that restricted the authority of federal judges to impose nationwide injunctions.
US District Judge Joseph Laplante ruled on Thursday that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that seeks to overturn the order may go forward as a class, enabling him to order a nationwide injunction. The order, which Trump issued on his first day back in office in January, would exclude US citizenship from being granted to babies born on American territory unless both parents are US citizens or legal permanent residents.
Laplante stated his ruling to block the order was straightforward, threatening that permitting the policy to proceed would inflict "irreparable harm."
"Citizenship alone is the greatest privilege that exists in the world," the judge testified at the hearing in Concord.
While the Supreme Court had earlier restricted judges from granting broad injunctions, Laplante stressed that class action suits are an exception. He temporarily stayed his ruling to allow the Trump administration time to appeal and assured a written ruling by day's end.
The suit, supported by the ACLU and other immigrant rights organizations, was filed only hours after the June 27 Supreme Court ruling, which had reduced three nationwide injunctions against the same executive order. The suit is on behalf of non-citizen residents whose children might be denied citizenship.
Trump's order, if enacted, would affect more than 150,000 babies every year, according to reports. Critics say it flatly violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which says that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens."
The Justice Department claims the executive order is constitutional and does not support granting class action status to the plaintiffs.
The battle about birthright citizenship is set to intensify, with far-reaching implications across the country.
