(Adnkronos) – Federal judge Joseph Laplante has blocked nationwide the executive order with which US President Donald Trump intended to end birthright citizenship, the citizenship obtained by birth in the United States. Laplante granted the request of immigration rights attorneys to certify who “will be deprived of citizenship” and issued a preliminary injunction that indefinitely blocks the execution of Trump’s ‘Day One’ order against newborns and unborn children who would have been affected by such a provision.
“The preliminary injunction is not an easy decision for the court,” Laplante said during a hearing. “The deprivation of US citizenship and an abrupt change in long-standing policy are irreparable harm,” he added. US citizenship, the judge added, “is the greatest privilege in the world.” The judge, appointed by former President George W. Bush, said he would suspend enforcement of his order for several days, to give the Trump administration time to appeal the decision.
