Federal appeals court rules Trump birthright citizenship order unconstitutional
A federal appeals court affirmed on July 23 a district court ruling that said President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.
The opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals was written by Ronald M. Gould, a Clinton appointee, and included a partial dissent from Patrick J. Bumatay, a first-term Trump appointee.
"The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree," the ruling reads.
Gould wrote that the administration's defense utilized a "network of inferences that are unmoored from the accepted legal principles of 1868," when the 14th Amendment was ratified.
Bumatay's dissent argued that the judges needed to "adhere to the confines of 'the judicial Power'" and cited Trump v. CASA, Inc. where the Supreme Court restricted the ability of judges to block Trump administration policies using nationwide injunctions.
The lawsuit was filed by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon in response to Trump's day-one executive order.
"The court agrees that the president cannot redefine what it means to be American with the stroke of a pen," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement to Paste BN. "He cannot strip away the rights, liberties, and protections of children born in our country."
"We’re proud to stand with the other states in this fight and we’ll continue to defend the rights of every Oregonian, regardless of how or where their story begins," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a separate statement to Paste BN.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a July 24 statement to Paste BN that "we look forward to being vindicated on appeal."
Paste BN has reached out to the other Attorneys General and the White House for comment.
The opinion follows a July 10 ruling by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante, which barred enforcement of the order after immigrant rights advocates filed a class action lawsuit in the wake of the Trump v. CASA ruling.
This story has been updated with new information.