A federal judge has granted the state of Washington's motion for a nationwide temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump's executive order, which seeks to deny birthright citizenship to children of immigrants born in the United States. This judicial decision prevents federal agencies from implementing the president's directive while the court initially reviews the case.
The court, by approving Attorney General Nick Brown's motion, acknowledged that it is likely the states' lawsuit will prevail based on its merits. This order ensures that immigrant families across the nation are protected from any immediate threat of their children losing citizenship. The federal government is prohibited from taking any action to deny citizenship protection to children born in the United States as long as the lawsuit proceeds.
"We hope this unconstitutional and un-American executive order never takes effect due to actions taken by states on behalf of their residents," stated Brown. "Birthright citizenship makes clear that citizenship cannot be conditioned on race, ethnicity, or parentage. It is our nation's law, recognized by generations of jurists, lawmakers, and presidents until President Trump's illegal action. That's why we stepped in to protect Washingtonians from any harm."
Background on the case
Attorney General Nick Brown filed a multistate federal lawsuit on January 21 and requested a temporary restraining order against President Donald Trump's unconstitutional executive order aiming to unilaterally revoke American citizenship nationwide, including thousands of babies born each year in Washington state.
The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington with Oregon, Arizona, and Illinois joining. The complaint argues that President Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship violates both the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal Immigration and Nationality Act. It asserts that no constitutional provision or law grants him authority to determine who should or should not receive U.S. citizenship at birth.
More information about this lawsuit can be found here in English and here in Spanish.
Colleen Melody heads up Washington state's legal team along with Assistant Attorneys General Lane Polozola, Daniel Jeon, Alyson Dimmitt Gnam, and Legal Assistants Tiffany Jennings and Anna Alfonso.