US Judge blocks Trump's birthright citizenship order nationwide via class action

UPDATED: Jul 11, 2025 00:45 IST

A US judge in New Hampshire has issued a new order blocking President Donald Trump's executive action aimed at curtailing birthright citizenship. The preliminary injunction, issued by US District Judge Joseph LaPlante, puts the controversial order on hold and sets the stage for what could be a landmark legal battle over the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to those born on US soil.

“This is not a close call,” LaPlante declared from the bench. “That’s irreparable harm—citizenship alone. It is the greatest privilege that exists in the world.”

The ruling marks the first major legal setback for Trump’s January executive order, which sought to deny US citizenship to children born to undocumented or temporary residents. LaPlante’s decision follows a pivotal Supreme Court ruling on June 27 that limited federal judges’ authority to issue nationwide injunctions — a ruling that now looms over how far lower courts can go in halting executive actions.

Despite that backdrop, LaPlante approved a class-action lawsuit encompassing all affected children, though he declined to include their parents. Attorneys for the plaintiffs said that limitation wouldn’t materially affect the outcome.

“This is going to protect every single child around the country from this lawless, unconstitutional and cruel executive order,” said Cody Wofsy, an attorney for the plaintiffs, who are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and allied groups. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a pregnant woman, two parents, and their US-born infants.

The government, defending the policy, argued that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship — “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” — does not apply to children born to undocumented immigrants. “Prior misimpressions of the citizenship clause have created a perverse incentive for illegal immigration,” Justice Department lawyers said in filings, blaming the current interpretation for threatening national security and economic stability.

But LaPlante dismissed those arguments, saying he did not find them frivolous but ultimately unpersuasive.

During the hour-long hearing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Eric Hamilton warned that the court was overstepping. “If anything, the injunction should be limited to New Hampshire,” he said, arguing that no one besides Trump had acted on the order and cautioning against allowing “a single court to become the end-all-and-be-all in reversing new federal policies.”

LaPlante included a seven-day stay in his order to allow the government time to appeal.

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With inputs from Associated Press