UPDATE: Judge blocks Trump's plan to end US birthright citizenship

SEATTLE, Washington, USA- A federal judge on Thursday, January 23, 2025, temporarily blocked US President Donald J. Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status.

US District Court Judge John C. Coughenour called Trump's executive order "blatantly unconstitutional" and issued a restraining order blocking it from going into force after a 25-minute hearing. The case was brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. "It boggles my mind," Judge Coughenour said of the controversial executive order.

The case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and a number of immigrants rights groups across the country. The suits include personal testimonies from attorneys general who are US citizens by birthright, and names pregnant women who are afraid their children won’t become US citizens. The order will be put on hold for 14 days pending further legal proceedings, and the case could end up in front of the US Supreme Court.