Dispute over "birthright"

First Trump order blocked by US judge

Trump's inauguration shattered the dream of a life in the USA for many migrants.

(Bild: AFP/Guillermo Arias)

Donald Trump's decree marathon is now calling the judiciary into action. A US federal judge has blocked his "executive order" to abolish the right to US citizenship by birth for the time being. 

It is a "blatantly unconstitutional order", federal judge John Coughenour explained his decision at a hearing in the west coast state of Washington on Thursday.

In his four decades as a judge, he could not remember ever having a case "as clear-cut as this one", the judge said. He was referring to the fact that the right to US citizenship at birth in the USA is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

However, the decree, which Republican Trump signed on his first day in office, would prohibit authorities from issuing passports and citizenship certificates to children whose mothers are in the US illegally or temporarily and whose fathers do not have a US passport or green card. Democratically governed states, cities and human rights organizations had filed lawsuits against Trump's order.

Focus on migrants in the USA
Trump justifies his tough migration policy as a legitimate means of protecting the country from alleged criminals. "We have thousands of terrorists in our country", he claimed on the right-wing conservative channel Fox News. In addition, "murderers by the tens of thousands" had come into the country. "People are coming here with their faces completely covered in tattoos," the Republican said. "They're probably not going to be heads of the local bank."

During the election campaign, Trump had already referred to migrants from poorer countries in general terms as violent criminals. However, studies show the opposite: undocumented migrants in particular tend to be more law-abiding than US citizens, as they shy away from contact with the authorities for fear of deportation.

Critics leave Trump cold
The US president is pressing ahead with his plans and is not being dissuaded by critics. The crowds at the country's southern border have posed a considerable challenge for the US authorities in recent years. The previous government also tried to put the system in order, but was criticized for its lack of enforcement. The new president is now clearly focusing on toughness.