A Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship: A Growing Legal Battle

In a significant legal development, a third federal judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants. U.S. District Judge Joseph N. Laplante of New Hampshire joined judges in Seattle and Maryland in ruling against the controversial order. Laplante, a Republican appointee, expressed skepticism about the Trump administration’s arguments, stating he was not persuaded by their defense. The judge indicated he would issue a detailed preliminary injunction to explain his decision further. This ruling comes amid a wave of legal challenges to Trump’s policy, with at least nine lawsuits filed across the country.

The ACLU filed one such lawsuit on behalf of immigrant rights groups, arguing that Trump’s order violates both the Constitution and federal law. They contend that the order undermines a fundamental American constitutional value enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, emphasized the importance of the right to citizenship by birth, stating, “This is a right