By Abiola Olawale
A federal appeals court in the United States has rejected an attempt by US President Donald Trump to revive his executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in its judgment, blocked Trump’s executive order, marking another legal setback for the policy, which sought to end automatic citizenship for children born on US soil to parents who are not US citizens or lawful permanent residents.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, declined the Trump administration’s emergency request to lift a nationwide injunction that had been issued by a lower court in Seattle.
The New Diplomat reports that the injunction was initially put in place by US District Judge John Coughenour and later reinforced by other federal judges. This judgment had kept the executive order on hold since its early challenges.
Meanwhile, the appeals court panel, consisting of judges found that Trump’s administration failed to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success on the merits of its appeal, thus upholding the block on the order.
It would be recalled that the executive order, signed by Trump on his first day back in office on January 20, 2025, aimed to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Trump argued that children of non-citizens, particularly those in the country illegally or on temporary visas, are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and thus not entitled to citizenship.
This interpretation has been widely contested as conflicting with longstanding legal precedent.
Following the development, multiple lawsuits have challenged the order, asserting that it violates the Constitution and oversteps presidential authority.
