A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a contentious executive order ending birthright citizenship, reigniting a legal standoff that has been underway since the beginning of President Trump’s second term.
Ruling from the bench, Judge Joseph N. Laplante of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire also allowed the case to proceed as a class action, applying his order nationwide to babies born to undocumented parents. After a recent Supreme Court decision limiting nationwide injunctions, lawsuits structured as class actions are effectively the only ones that can halt the president’s policies across broad sections of the country.
The Trump administration has fought to end the longstanding custom that people born in the United States are automatically citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Judge Laplante’s order ensures a new round of litigation and appeals.
The judge, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said he would issue a written order later in the day. He also stayed his order for seven days, allowing time for an appeal.
The lawsuit, brought by the A.C.L.U., was filed just hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling last month, testing what appeared to be the only remaining practical and efficient way for district court judges to freeze the implementation of policies they found unlawful.
The Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship did not address the core dispute surrounding the constitutionality of Mr. Trump’s executive action, but it paved the way for a majority of states to begin enforcing it. However, the court’s majority said the executive order could not be carried out for 30 days, allowing time for lawsuits to be filed.
The A.C.L.U.’s lawsuit proposed that all children born in the United States after Feb. 20 and their parents constituted a class. It warned that under the terms of Mr. Trump’s order, people born to parents in the country unlawfully risked being rendered “effectively stateless.”
“For families across America today, birthright citizenship represents the promise that their children can achieve their full potential as Americans,” the lawsuit said. “It means children born here can dream of becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers, entrepreneurs or even president — dreams that would be foreclosed if their citizenship were stripped away based on their parents’ status.”
Zach Montague is a Times reporter covering the federal courts, including the legal disputes over the Trump administration’s agenda.
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