ACLU seeks court order against new Trump citizenship directives
ACLU and allies ask federal judge to block Trump's new executive orders curtailing birthright citizenship, citing Supreme Court's June rejection.
Civil rights organizations, led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have petitioned a federal judge in New Hampshire to prevent President Donald Trump from implementing recent executive orders that aim to restrict birthright citizenship.
The filing, submitted on Tuesday, argues that the August 6 orders represent an improper attempt to bypass the Supreme Court's June decision, which struck down a broader White House effort to limit citizenship rights for children born in the United States. The court had ruled that the earlier directive violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In their legal motion, the groups stated that despite the Supreme Court's clear guidance, the President continues to assert authority to define categories of children whose citizenship he intends to deny. They urged the court to explicitly affirm that the government cannot strip citizenship from class members through executive orders or other similarly flawed assertions of executive power over birthright citizenship.
The U.S. Department of Justice and a spokesperson for Trump's legal team had not responded to requests for comment at the time of reporting.