President Trump on Jan. 20 in Washington, DC. Photo: Chip Somodevilla / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
President Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is "blatantly unconstitutional," a federal judge in Seattle ruled yesterday, temporarily blocking it nationwide, multiple outlets reported.
The big picture: The decision came a day after the presidentoffered his first defense of the order, which seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents and undocumented immigrants.
The president's order would also extend to parents in the country legally but temporarily, like foreign students, workers or tourists.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sided for now with Washington, which led a lawsuit that was joined by Arizona, Illinois and Oregon.
They had argued the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law guarantee the right to birthright citizenship.
State of play: The judge's ruling blocks Trump's order from taking effect for now while the court considers the case.
But, in granting the motion, the court agreed the states' lawsuit is likely to prevail, per a news release from the Washington attorney general's office.
What they're saying: "This unconstitutional and un-American executive order will hopefully never take effect," Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a written statement.
"Birthright citizenship makes clear that citizenship cannot be conditioned on one's race, ethnicity or where their parents came from."
