A third federal judge on Monday blocked President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship order from taking effect. The federal government seeks to narrow the broad recognition of birthright citizenship to exclude children born to illegal immigrants and those temporarily visiting the United States. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante’s ruling in New Hampshire follows two similar rulings by judges in Seattle and Maryland last week.
“I’m going to grant the injunction,” Laplante said at a Feb. 10 hearing, siding with the plaintiff, New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, an immigrants’ rights advocacy group. The judge noted that he entered the hearing expecting to grant the motion but wanted to allow both sides to present their arguments. While he found nothing surprising in the arguments, he acknowledged that the government’s case was not entirely unfounded in his opinion.
“I’m not persuaded by the defendant’s arguments in this case on this motion. Obviously, I’m not, I’m granting the injunction,” Laplante said. “But I have to say, I’m not offended by them either, as a lawyer or a jurist.”
Drew Ensign, the Justice Department’s deputy assistant attorney general, argued that the United States “necessarily suffers harm any time that it’s forced to recognize … someone as a citizen against its consent.” Ensign also contended that the court would infringe on the nation’s sovereignty by dictating who the government must recognize as a citizen.
Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union representing the plaintiff, urged the judge to reject that argument. “I just think it would be extremely detrimental to sort of foundational separation of powers to say that if the president … is out here violating federal statutes, that’s something that courts have no power to reach. That sort of basic principle is something that’s been recognized over and over and over again in all of these cases.”
Judge Laplante stated he would file the order granting the injunction immediately and provide a more detailed explanation of his reasoning on Feb. 11. This is a developing story and will be updated.
