Federal judges block Trump citizenship order

Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi

For Trump, the Constitution is 'something to navigate around or simply ignore,' said U.S. District Judge John Coughenour

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

What happened

A federal judge in Seattle Thursday issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship through executive action. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour's order extended indefinitely a temporary stay he issued two weeks ago and follows another preliminary injunction issued by a federal judge in Maryland on Wednesday.

Who said what

"It has become ever more apparent" that for Trump, "the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals" and the Constitution "something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain," said Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee. But if the Trump administration "wants to change the exceptional American grant of birthright citizenship, it needs to amend the Constitution itself."

The near-identical rulings from Coughenour and U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland were a "back-to-back blow" to Trump's argument that "children born in the country to parents without legal status here should not automatically receive U.S. citizenship," despite the 14th amendment, NPR said.

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What next?

A federal judge in Massachusetts hears a challenge to Trump's birthright order from 18 states Friday and a New Hampshire federal court will consider a challenge from the ACLU on Monday. The two current injunctions serve as "redundancies" that block the order "unless both courts are overruled or decide otherwise," The Seattle Times said. The Justice Department said it would appeal Coughenour's ruling.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.