As federal judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order, local groups relieved for now

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- When President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday night ending the right of birthright citizenship for children born to parents who aren't U.S. citizens, Marc Christopher said the phone started ringing.

Christopher, an immigration lawyer at the South Milwaukee law firm, Christopher & De Leon, said he received so many messages, he posted a video to social media seeking to answer the most common questions.

"We've received so many calls, I would say in the hundreds of calls, from clients, prospective clients, or people just concerned," he said. "Asking if this is something that could into effect and would impact them."

Deisy España fielded similar questions. España, 22, is the daughter of an undocumented parent and an organizer for the immigrant advocacy group, Voces de la Frontera.

España said she heard from friends who are undocumented and either pregnant or planning to start a family. Trump's order stated children born to parents who are neither U.S. citizens nor legal permanent residents would no longer be recognized at birth as citizens.

"I've just been getting text messages or calls saying, 'What does this mean? Can it happen?'" she said.

Groups of Democratic attorneys general, including Wisconsin's Josh Kaul, immediately filed suits challenging the legality of the order, and on Thursday, Judge John Coughenour, a federal judge in Seattle, blocked the order from taking effect.

Coughenour, who was appointed to the court by Ronald Reagan, called the order "blatantly unconstitutional."

Christopher said he was confident the ban will eventually be struck down altogether by higher courts. He cited the 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 and of the State wherein they reside."

At the same time, he noted a 6-3 conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court could eventually uphold Trump's order.

"I am concerned," Christopher said. "I have faith, though, that this amendment is so clear-cut that Supreme Court would find it unconstitutional."

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview Sunday the Trump administration was prepared for a legal battle, and she pushed back on the assertion a president doesn't have the power to unilaterally alter how the nation applies birthright citizenship.

"That's widely contested, and the president will deliver on that promise, as well," she said. "We've seen the catastrophic consequence of being one of the only developed nations in this word that allows people to migrate here, give birth, and then their offspring automatically become citizens of the United States."

According to the World Population Review, no major European country applies birthright citizenship. However, nearly every nation in North America and South America do recognize birthright citizenship, including Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.

España said she worried if the Supreme Court eventually upheld President Trump's order, it could eventually lead to either the Trump administration or a future president to strip citizenship from others born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.

"They can potentially go after, for example, my citizenship because my parents are not citizens," she said.

Ultimately, España said she was encouraged by Thursday's ruling. However, she echoed Christopher's concerns about what could happen with the nation's highest court.

"I think it was a sense of relief," she said. "But also, I knew it was gonna be a lengthy legal process."