A second U.S. federal court has issued a nationwide block on President Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision just weeks after the Supreme Court limited the ability of lower courts to grant broad injunctions, making the ruling a key test of judicial authority under the new precedent.
In a 2-1 decision, the appellate panel sided with four Democratic-led states that argued the executive order was unconstitutional and threatened future generations. The court determined that a narrower ruling would not provide adequate relief to the plaintiffs, justifying the continued use of a nationwide block despite the Supreme Court’s guidance.
A panel of judges on the appeals court wrote that Trump’s 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 decision adds to growing confusion over the scope of federal court power, as judges across the country navigate the boundaries set by the nation’s highest court. With two nationwide injunctions now in place against the same order, the judiciary finds itself once again at the center of a broader legal and constitutional debate.
