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The 9th US circuit court of appeals has declined an emergency request from President Donald Trump to vacate a ruling blocking his birthright citizenship order.
Trump issued a flurry of executive orders on the first day of his inauguration — including an order to crackdown on “illegal immigration”.
Under an 1868 constitutional amendment, anyone born on American soil is deemed a US citizen.
Trump is seeking to end birthright citizenship for children whose parents are undocumented or are in the United States on a temporary basis.
On January 23, John C. Coughenour, US district judge, temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship.
On February 5, Deborah Boardman, another federal judge, placed a lid on the order, which took the case to the appeal court.
On February 20, the 9th US circuit court of appeals ruled that birthright citizenship “is beyond the president’s authority to condition or deny” because it is “about citizenship right” as enshrined in the “14th amendment”.
The court stated that the administration’s request was declined because it had not shown that it was likely to succeed on the merits of the dispute.
Danielle Forrest, a judge appointed to the court by Trump in his first tenure, said she voted against the justice department’s request because it had not shown that there was an emergency requiring an immediate intervention of the court.
“We should not undertake this task unless the circumstances dictate that we must. They do not here,” she said.
The lawsuit was filed by Democratic attorneys-general of four states led by Washington.
The Trump administration could now take its case to the supreme court.
Pascal Arogorn Ibe
