New Hampshire judge to hear arguments on class action against Trump’s birthright citizenship order

By HOLLY RAMER and MIKE CATALINI Associated Press CONCORD N H AP A federal judge in New Hampshire will hear arguments Thursday on whether to certify a class-action lawsuit that would include every baby affected by President Donald Trump s restrictions on birthright citizenship The lawsuit filed on behalf of a pregnant woman two parents and their infants is among numerous cases challenging Trump s January order denying citizenship to those born to parents living in the U S illegally or temporarily Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and others the plaintiffs are seeking to have their episode certified as a class action and to block implementation of the order while litigation continues Tens of thousands of babies and their parents may be exposed to the order s myriad harms in just weeks and need an injunction now lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote in court documents filed Tuesday FILE Mairelise Robinson a U S citizen who is months pregnant attends a protest in help of birthright citizenship outside of the Supreme Court in Washington May AP Photo Jacquelyn Martin File At issue is the Constitution s th Amendment which states All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States The Trump administration says the phrase subject to the jurisdiction thereof means the U S can deny citizenship to babies born to women in the country illegally ending what has been seen as an intrinsic part of U S law for more than a century Prior misimpressions of the citizenship clause have created a perverse incentive for illegal immigration that has negatively impacted this country s sovereignty national protection and economic stability cabinet lawyers wrote in the New Hampshire affair The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to the children of those who have circumvented or outright defied federal immigration laws Legal battles continue in multiple states Several federal judges have issued nationwide injunctions stopping Trump s order from taking effect but the U S Supreme Court limited those injunctions in a June ruling that gave lower courts days to act With that time frame in mind opponents of the change promptly returned to court to try to block it New Jersey and the more than dozen states joining its incident in Massachusetts federal court have sought the judge to determine if the nationwide injunction in their matter could still apply under the high court s ruling The judge has scheduled a hearing for July Related Articles A surprise IRS move on political endorsements leaves faith leaders and legal experts divided FACT FOCUS Trump misrepresents facts about wind power during Cabinet meeting US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza Trump administration resumes sending selected weapons to Ukraine after Pentagon pause Man accused of Trump assassination attempt in Florida seeks to remove defense attorneys from episode Everybody knows there s a -day clock so our hope is that we get an answer prior to the end of the -day clock New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin advised The Associated Press in a latest interview In a Washington state situation before the th U S Circuit Court of Appeals the judges have questioned the parties to write briefs explaining the effect of the Supreme Court s ruling Washington and the other states in that lawsuit have sought the appeals court to return the matter to the lower court judge As in New Hampshire the plaintiff in a Maryland seeks to organize a class-action lawsuit that includes every person who would be affected by the order The judge set a Wednesday deadline for written legal arguments as she considers the request for another nationwide injunction from CASA a nonprofit immigrant rights organization Ama Frimpong legal director at CASA stated the group has been stressing to its members and clients that it is not time to panic No one has to move states right this instant she explained There s different avenues through which we are all fighting again to make sure that this executive order never definitely sees the light of day New Hampshire plaintiffs include parents babies The New Hampshire plaintiffs referred to only by pseudonyms include a woman from Honduras who has a pending asylum application and is due to give birth to her fourth child in October She explained the court the family came to the U S after being targeted by gangs I do not want my child to live in fear and hiding I do not want my child to be a target for immigration enforcement she wrote I fear our family could be at pitfall of separation Another plaintiff a man from Brazil has lived with his wife in Florida for five years Their first child was born in March and they are in the process of applying for lawful permanent status based on family ties his wife s father is a U S citizen My baby has the right to citizenship and a future in the United States he wrote Catalini informed from Trenton New Jersey