WASHINGTON (OSV News): On July 23, the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit a federal appeals court on dealt another blow to the execute order of US president, Donald Trump, to end the practice of birthright citizenship as part of a class-action lawsuit.
The court issued a 2-1 ruling upholding a District Court’s previous temporary nationwide injunction.
“We conclude that the Executive Order is invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment’s grant of citizenship to ‘all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,’” the ruling said.
The Supreme Court had previously limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions in June, but the court indicated such challenges could continue as class-action suits. The ruling may bring the issue back to the Supreme Court as the Trump administration seeks enforcement of its order.
At the time, the Supreme Court did not directly rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order itself. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority that “when a court concludes that the Executive Branch has acted unlawfully, the answer is not for the court to exceed its power, too.”
We conclude that the Executive Order is invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment’s grant of citizenship to ‘all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof
Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit
If Trump’s order, which is part of his administration’s broader effort to implement his hardline immigration policies, were enforced, it would end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents without legal status or to temporary visa holders.
The order is among the Trump administration’s immigration actions that have been met with criticism from the US bishops.
Others have criticised the order as well, calling it unconstitutional. They point to the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Despite the argument against birthright citizenship that Trump made when he signed the order in January and one he has repeated since—that the US is “the only country in the world that does this”—the United States is one of at least 30 countries, including Canada and Mexico, in which the principle of jus soli, or “right of soil,” applies.
This legal principle grants citizenship at birth without restrictions, regardless of the citizenship status of the parents. Most of those countries are located in the Americas, and scholars trace the origins of the practice to colonial times. It also has origins in English common law.
