US citizenship BIG update: Judge blocks Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship

President Donald Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship has been thrown into legal limbo once again, as a New Hampshire judge blocked his executive order and cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit brought by immigrant families to move forward.

A US judge has once again blocked President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order ending birthright citizenship for some US residents, keeping the measure on hold as a legal challenge proceeds.

The ruling came as the New Hampshire judge approved a class-action lawsuit against Trump’s executive order, temporarily stopping the policy from taking effect. The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of immigrant parents and their infants who could lose citizenship rights under the proposed change.

The decision follows closely on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling that imposed new limits on how federal courts issue universal injunctions. Despite the high court’s ruling, certain avenues remain open for nationwide relief through class actions, under which the current lawsuit was filed.

Still, the White House quickly pushed back on the judge’s decision.

“Today’s decision is an obvious and unlawful attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s clear order against universal relief. This judge’s decision disregards the rule of law by abusing class action certification procedures,” spokesman Harrison Fields said Thursday. “The Trump Administration will be fighting vigorously against the attempts of these rogue district court judges to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement.”

At the center of the legal battle is the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which establishes that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”

Trump’s executive order aims to revoke that right for babies born in the US to undocumented immigrants and foreign visitors, as part of his broader crackdown on immigration.

The class-action suit argues that the order is harmful and unconstitutional and seeks to protect the rights of infants who could be denied citizenship under the proposed policy. The judge ruled that the lawsuit can proceed on behalf of those potentially affected.

The ruling also pauses an order that has been a high priority for Trump since early in his presidency. The government has been given seven days to file an appeal.

Previously, multiple courts issued nationwide injunctions to block the order as they considered various legal challenges. The Trump administration appealed those holds to the Supreme Court, arguing lower court judges lacked authority to block presidential orders nationwide while legal battles played out.

Although the Supreme Court’s conservative majority sided with Trump in a 6-3 decision that limited judicial power to impose broad injunctions, the justices did not address the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order itself.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, Trump’s policy was scheduled to take effect on 27 July, a timeline now uncertain as legal wrangling continues.