Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Judge temporarily halts Trump’s order banning birthright citizenship in U.S.

18 other states have sued against Mr Trump’s order and their suits are under review in Massachusetts.

and • January 23, 2025
Donald Trump
Donald Trump signing document

Judge John C. Coughenour has temporarily restrained President Donald Trump from ending birthright citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants or mothers on tourist visas and student visas.

Mr Coughenour, a federal court judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, on Thursday, said that Mr Trump’s executive order was “blatantly unconstitutional” and temporarily reversed it after multiple states —Washington, Illinois, Oregon and Arizona — filed lawsuits against the president’s order.

They contended that Mr Trump’s order not only contradicts the 14th Amendment but that it will leave no fewer than 150,000 babies born in the U.S. every year without state and benefits. This, they argued, will cause the states to lose funding from the federal government to finance multiple programs.

The attorneys for the four states told the judge that a constitutional amendment to alter the wording of the law to fit Mr Trump’s executive order would “flatly contradict the nation’s constitutional history and constitutional traditions,” relying on a 1995 testimony from former Assistant Attorney General Walter Dellinger.

18 other states have sued against Mr Trump’s order and their suits are under review in Massachusetts.

Mr Trump kicked off his presidency, signing a flurry of executive orders that not only halted automatic citizenship to all children born on American soil but also diminished the rights of persons with different sexual orientation. He stressed that the U.S. government will only recognise two genders, “male and female.”

He also ordered all federal government workers to return to offices fully, ending all remote work.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi

Politics

Rigged 2027 presidential election could spell doom for Nigeria: Sam Amadi

“A rigged election in 2027 could be the trigger for a very devastating outcome for the country,’’ Sam Amadi warned.

Gombe governor Yahaya Inuwa

Politics

Gov Yahaya commends Ashaka Cement’s contributions to development of Gombe

Governor Inuwa Yahaya commended Ashaka Cement for its contributions to Gombe’s socio-economic development and industrial growth.

UNN building

Education

COREN inducts 250 UNN engineering graduates

The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria on Tuesday inducted the maiden 250 graduates of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN).

Kate Omenugha

Education

Court reserves judgement in Ojukwu varsity VC appointment suit

After hearing the arguments, Justice John Tergama, who presided, fixed October 15 to deliver a judgement on the matter.

NAICOM

Economy

CIIN, insurance CEOs back renaming NAICOM

CIIN and insurance CEOs have endorsed the Senate’s passage of a bill to rename the National Insurance Commission as the Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Police caught extorting motorist

States

Police advise Nigerian youths to be honest in life

The police command in Enugu has advised Nigerian youths to shun crimes, saying honesty is the surest path to lasting success.