The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that President Donald Trump cannot end birthright citizenship with his executive order, likely setting up a battle about the issue in the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department had filed an emergency request for the court to lift a Seattle judge’s freeze on the policy, but the appeals court denied it on Wednesday.
CNN reports:
The 9th Circuit panel – made up of a Trump appointee, a Jimmy Carter appointee and a George W. Bush appointee – said that a closer review of the case will move forward in its court, with arguments slated for June.
The case before the San Francisco-based appeals court is one of several major legal challenges to the policy and the first to get the weigh-in by an appellate panel.
In filings, the Justice Department said that the birthright citizenship executive order was “an integral part of President Trump’s broader effort to repair the United States’ immigration system and to address the ongoing crisis at the southern border.”
The court said the decision was made because the appeal was not likely to succeed on the dispute’s merits.
The lawsuit against the order was brought by four state’s Democratic attorneys general.
“This is not a case about ‘immigration,” the lawsuit states. “It is about citizenship rights that the Fourteenth Amendment and federal statute intentionally and explicitly place beyond the President’s authority to condition or deny.”
Under Trump’s day-one order, a baby born in the United States would not have automatic citizenship unless one of the parents is a citizen or green card holder.
The order states:
It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.
“On a prospective basis, the federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” a Trump official explained on a call with reporters about the orders.
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