On January 23, a federal district court in Seattle, WA granted a temporary restraining order to Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon to halt the enforcement of President Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.” The executive order interprets the Fourteenth Amendment to not grant citizenship to children born in the United States when their parents are in the country illegally or temporarily. The states filed a lawsuit challenging the order and allege that it runs afoul of the Fourteenth Amendment and other federal immigration law. They contend that the order’s enforcement will cause immediate and irreparable harm to the states and their residents by stripping their residents’ U.S. citizenship and decreasing funds to federally supported programs like Medicaid. They allege that the states would then be responsible for covering these costs.

Prior to the decision, the Government’s court filing called the restraining order an unwarranted “extraordinary measure.” DOJ asserted that the states lack standing to bring the lawsuit, were unlikely to succeed on the merits of the case, and ignored longstanding court precedent supporting the administration’s interpretation of birthright citizenship.