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A federal judge, Leo Sorokin, on Friday issued another ruling blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship for children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally. This is the third court ruling since a key Supreme Court decision in June. Sorokin joined two other district courts and an appellate panel that found a nationwide injunction granted to multiple states remains valid under an exception to the Supreme Court’s ruling, which limited lower-court judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions.
Sorokin’s decision supports the argument made by states that Trump’s birthright citizenship order is unconstitutional and potentially jeopardizes millions of dollars for health insurance services tied to citizenship status. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin stated in a press release: “Thrilled the district court again barred President Trump’s flagrantly unconstitutional birthright citizenship order from taking effect anywhere.” He added, “American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation’s history.”
The government argued that Sorokin should narrow his earlier ruling granting a preliminary injunction to focus on states’ financial injuries. However, Sorokin rejected this approach and criticized the administration for failing to provide feasible solutions or explain how such a narrower injunction would work without causing administrative or financial burdens.
Sorokin acknowledged that Trump and his administration can continue pursuing their interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, with the Supreme Court ultimately settling the matter. “But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional,” he wrote.
Earlier, a federal judge in New Hampshire also prohibited Trump’s executive order from taking effect nationwide, and an appeals court in San Francisco found the order to be unconstitutional and upheld the nationwide block on Wednesday. A Maryland-based judge agreed with these rulings and said she would do the same if an appeals court approved it.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that lower courts generally can’t issue nationwide injunctions but didn’t rule out other orders that could have national effects, such as those in class-action lawsuits or brought by states. The justices did not decide whether the underlying citizenship order is constitutional.
At the core of these lawsuits lies the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified after the Civil War and the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision. The amendment declared that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, regardless of their parents’ status.
The Trump administration contends that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and therefore not entitled to citizenship.
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Which of the following best describes the action taken by Judge Leo Sorokin in his latest ruling?
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