On January 23, 2025, a US District Court Judge granted a temporary restraining order halting the implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order aiming to end birthright citizenship for children born on or after February 19, 2025. This temporary restraining order was set to expire within 14 days. Now, two federal judges have issued preliminary injunctions preventing its enforcement through the duration of legal proceedings.
Preliminary injunctions prevent enforcement of the Executive Order aiming to end birthright citizenship
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order that denied citizenship to children born in the US to non-citizen parents, including those who are in the country as undocumented noncitizens or on temporary visas. This move faced immediate legal challenges from multiple states, including Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, which argued that the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court precedents affirm birthright citizenship.
On January 23, 2025, a US District in Washington issued a temporary restraining order that blocked the Executive Order from going into effect. The Judge’s decision halted the implementation of the Executive Order for 14 days.
Now two district courts have issued injunctions against President Trump’s Executive Order. On February 5, 2025, US a District Judge in Maryland granted the first nationwide preliminary injunction. The Judge emphasized that birthright citizenship is a “fundamental” constitutional right. On February 6, 2025, a US District Judge in Seattle also granted a nationwide preliminary injunction on the enforcement of the Executive Order for the duration of the legal proceedings.
While the injunctions remain in place and the lawsuits challenging the Executive Order are pending before the Courts, the right to birthright citizenship in the United States remains in effect. Thus, children born in the US to non-citizen parents will continue to be recognized as US citizens at birth until a higher court overturns the injunction or rules on the merits of the case.
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Manish Daftari
Partner
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