New Hampshire judge to pause Trump's birthright citizenship order

[BumRushDaShow]

Last edited Thu Jul 10, 2025, 11:03 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

Updated 10:55 AM EDT, July 10, 2025


CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge in New Hampshire said Thursday he will certify a class action lawsuit including all children who will be affected by President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship and issue a preliminary injunction blocking it.

Judge Joseph LaPlante announced his decision after an hour-long hearing and said a written order will follow. The order will include a seven-day stay to allow for appeal, he said.

The class is slightly narrower than that sought by the plaintiffs, who originally included parents as plaintiffs.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a pregnant woman, two parents and their infants. It’s among numerous cases challenging Trump’s January order denying citizenship to those born to parents living in the U.S. illegally or temporarily. The plaintiffs are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and others.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-classaction-lawsuit-055227e3f219fd890c78cd21c89fd5d0

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Article updated.

Original article/headline -

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

Updated 12:01 AM EDT, July 10, 2025


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 case 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.

At issue is the Constitution’s 14th 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.

[bucolic_frolic]

1. "subject to the jurisdiction thereof"

Heard the phrase many times, never thought about it much.

Almost sounds like you're not a citizen if you're not on US soil. All of us. Yet we are subject to US jurisdiction outside the US. The legal system can reach far and wide outside the US to detain us, pull our passport, request foreign governments to extradite us, if we are not in good standing as a holder of US passport.

I don't think they have a leg to stand on here.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. Judge in New Hampshire grants class-action motion blocking administration from taking steps to end birthright citizenshi

Link to tweet

[Bayard]

3. I don't think any judge is going to rule against the Constitution

Including the Supremes.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Maddow Blog-Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship blocked by federal judge

The Supreme Court left open a door to challenging the executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The ACLU walked right through.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/birthright-citizenship-class-action-trump-executive-order-rcna218023

Trump’s order, however, continues to fare poorly in the courts. NBC News reported:

A federal judge in New Hampshire granted class-action status to a lawsuit seeking to protect babies who would be denied birthright citizenship by the Trump administration and granted a temporary block of the order restricting birthright citizenship from going into effect throughout the country. The suit was brought on behalf of a pregnant immigrant, immigrant parents and their infants and had sought class action status for all babies around the country who would be affected by Trump’s executive order and their parents.

NBC News’ report added that the judge in the case “ordered a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking Trump’s order from going into effect, but stayed his order for seven days, allowing the government time to appeal” — which it almost certainly will.

The ruling in the case was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante, who was appointed to the federal bench by George W. Bush.

While readers might’ve seen headlines about a related Supreme Court ruling last month, as my MSNBC colleague Jordan Rubin explained, the justices’ highly controversial opinion focused largely on the judiciary’s authority, not on the underlying constitutional issue and the legality of Trump’s order itself.

Within hours of the Supreme Court’s ruling, which left open the possibility of using class action lawsuits to challenge the White House’s policy, the ACLU filed just such a case. On Thursday morning, it scored a key victory. Watch this space.