Quotes
No president can change the constitution on a whim and today's decision affirms that,
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said
Birthright citizenship makes clear that citizenship cannot be conditioned on one's race, ethnicity or where their parents came from,
he said after the rulingBirthright citizenship is as American as apple pie,
he wrote on social mediaThe executive order will impact hundreds of thousands of citizens nationwide who will lose their citizenship under this new rule,
Polozola said
I've been on the bench for over four decades. I can't remember another case where the question presented is as clear as this one. This is a blatantly unconstitutional order."
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour
If Trump really wants to stop birth tourism and anchor babies, he's probably going to need a Constitutional Amendment,
he saidNor is he empowered by any other constitutional provision or law to determine who shall or shall not be granted United States citizenship at birth."
It continues
I've been in front of Judge Coughenour before to see his frustration personally,
Brown said
In your opinion, is this executive order constitutional?”
the judge asked
A seven months pregnant woman came with her husband to sign up for a preterm delivery. She isn't due until some time in March
he sharedI think the theory that the Trump administration has is that if they deny certain immigrants access to birthright citizenship for their children, people won't want to come to the United States, whether on a temporary visa or coming illegally, that that will be a deterrent,
says Julia Gelatt, Associate Director of the US Immigration Policy Programme at the Migrant Policy Institute
I’m not sure that birthright citizenship is a big factor in many people’s minds when they decide to migrate,
she addedI have difficulty understanding how a member of the bar could state unequivocally that this is a constitutional order,
Coughenour was quoted by AP
Babies are being born today, tomorrow, every day, all across this country, and so we had to act now”.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown was quoted as sayingThe executive order was issued three days ago during a time of change of administration. And so it's very early for the agencies to develop their policies that would be necessary
for implementation ... Rosenberg told US District Judge Deborah Boardman
Babies are being born today here, and in the plaintiff states and around the country, with a cloud cast over their citizenship."
He addedObviously, we’ll appeal it.”
Responding to the court blocking the executive order, Trump said
We will most likely have a crisis of thousands of stateless children born in the U.S., not only from Venezuela, but from any immigrant that gives birth and their country does not have an embassy in the U.S.,
said Juan De la Vega, an immigration attorney in Miami
Asking for a passport for yourself, and presumably for these children, could be considered under the U.S. asylum laws as you availing yourself of the country that you’re seeking protection from,
Pérez saidThere might be a loophole for those seeking asylum,
said Helena Tetzeli, an attorney with the American Immigration Lawyers Association