Feb 10, 2025 Story by: Editor
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an appeal against a federal judge’s ruling that indefinitely blocks President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.
In a brief notice issued Thursday night, the government announced its decision to challenge the nationwide preliminary injunction granted earlier that day by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour. The injunction was issued in response to a request from four Democratic state attorneys general and a group of private plaintiffs.
The appeal will be reviewed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, marking the Justice Department’s first appeal in a lawsuit challenging a major Trump administration policy.
Trump signed the executive order limiting birthright citizenship on his first day back in office, as part of a series of early immigration measures. The order aims to restrict birthright citizenship so that children born in the U.S. to parents without permanent legal status would no longer be automatically granted citizenship.
Judge Coughenour, a former President Reagan appointee, strongly criticized the administration’s attempt to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, which historically guarantees birthright citizenship with very few exceptions, as upheld by the Supreme Court.
“It has become ever more apparent that, to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals,” Coughenour stated. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain.”
“Nevertheless, in this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow,” he added.
Coughenour’s ruling follows a similar injunction issued by a federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday, which also remains in effect indefinitely. The executive order is currently facing nine legal challenges, with upcoming hearings scheduled in Boston and Concord, N.H., in the coming days. Source: The Hill
