A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, upholding a lower court’s decision to block the directive nationwide.
The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals comes after months of legal wrangling over the controversial order, which aimed to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil to undocumented immigrants or individuals on temporary visas. The court concluded that the order violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
“We fully agree,” wrote Judge Ronald Gould in the opinion. “The district court correctly concluded that the Executive Order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional.”
Judge Gould also defended the scope of the district court’s nationwide injunction, rejecting claims of judicial overreach. He emphasized that limiting the order geographically would create confusion and render the injunction ineffective, as individuals could move between states with differing citizenship rules.
The ruling follows a recent Supreme Court decision that criticized the growing use of broad, nationwide injunctions by individual judges but stopped short of ruling on the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order. While Trump claimed that decision as a “giant win,” the high court left open the possibility for class-action lawsuits to block executive policies more broadly.
Earlier this month, a federal judge granted class-action status to all children potentially affected by the order and issued a preliminary nationwide halt as litigation continues.
The decision marks a significant legal blow to Trump’s immigration agenda and reaffirms longstanding constitutional protections for those born on U.S. soil.
Written By Rodney Mbua
