Third court blocks Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship

A federal judge responding to a lawsuit filed by the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco today blocked President Trump’s ban on birthright citizenship.

It’s the third such court to do so.

 “Instead of improving living conditions for all, this administration is creating chaos and fear to further a divisive agenda. Just as Wong Kim Ark and his community came together over a century ago, we will continue to fight for the freedom to create a better life for our loved ones,” said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, said in a statement to AsAmNews.   

Born and raised in San Francisco in 1873, Wong went to visit his parents in China in 1894, but immigration authorities barred him from returning. He sued and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the 14th Amendment granted “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.”

The Law Caucus joined the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and Legal Defense Fund on behalf of New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Make the Road New York, in filing its case.

 “I’m not persuaded by the defendants’ arguments in this case,” Federal District Judge Joseph Laplante said in making his ruling, reports USA Today.

Judges in Maryland and Washington State have made similar rulings with the judge in Washington calling the executive order “blatantly unconstitutional.”

At today’s hearing, an attorney for the ACLU stated “This attempt to deny babies their citizenship is as illegal as it is inhumane, and we will keep fighting until we stop this order for good,” reported CBS News.

However, the Justice Department argued Trump is well within his rights.