US judge accuses Trump of ignoring rule of law to curb birthright citizenship
A federal judge in Seattle on Thursday accused Donald Trump of ignoring the rule of law for political and personal gain as he declared an executive order that the Republican president signed seeking to curtail birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional.
There was applause in the courtroom after US District Judge John Coughenour extended an order he had issued two weeks ago temporarily blocking Trump's order from being implemented into a nationwide injunction lasting indefinitely.
"It has become ever more apparent that to our president the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals," said Coughenour, an appointee of Republican former President Ronald Reagan. “The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain.”
Trump's administration late on Thursday filed a notice that it was appealing the judge's decision. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The judge's ruling came in a lawsuit by the Democratic-led states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon and several pregnant women who argued that Trump's order violates a right enshrined in the US Constitution's 14th Amendment that provides that anyone born in the United States is a citizen.
Trump's order directed US agencies to refuse to recognise the citizenship of children born in the United States after February 19 if neither their mother nor father is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. Trump signed this order, part of his sweeping hardline immigration policies, on his first day back in office on January 20.
Coughenour's nationwide preliminary injunction is one of two issued by federal judges so far blocking Trump's administration from implementing the order.
A federal judge in Maryland issued a similar injunction on Wednesday, and judges in Boston and New Hampshire are set on Friday and Monday to consider whether to do the same at the request of Democratic-led states and immigrant rights advocates.
