Live blog USA under Trump: US federal judge blocks Trump's citizenship decree

A court has handed US President Donald Trump his first legal setback after just a few days in office. A judge in Washington state blocked the Republican's attempt to restrict the right to U.S. citizenship through birth in the country (“birthright citizenship”) for certain groups. The corresponding regulation was “blatantly unconstitutional,” said Judge John C. Coughenour, according to consistent US media reports. After a lawsuit from several states against the Trump administration, he issued one interim injunction.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that persons born in the United States are citizens of the country. However, Trump argues that this does not apply if the mother was in the USA illegally or only temporarily when the child was born. He is referring to a clause in the amendment that states that the law only applies to persons subject to US jurisdiction.

Shortly after his inauguration, the Republican signed a decree to limit automatic citizenship. Thereupon Several states and civil rights organizations filed lawsuits a. The cases are likely to go through several instances and possibly end up before the US Supreme Court. During Trump's first term, the Supreme Court moved significantly to the right due to several replacements. The Supreme Court has so far made no distinction on the issue as to whether the parents were in the USA legally or illegally.