A judge's gavel (Shutterstock)
A judge ruled from the bench on a lawsuit in New Hampshire on Thursday morning that tested a Supreme Court ruling on President Donald Trump's birthright citizenship order.
The move sidesteps the ruling from last month which declared that lower courts could not issue nationwide injunctions. It did so by declaring the case before the judge a class-action lawsuit — meaning it affects everybody with a possible claim.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante issued a decision from the bench. His ruling hasn't yet been posted to the public.
Reuters reported that American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyers asked the judge to grant class action status to the lawsuit representing all babies born in the U.S. whose citizenship status is now being threatened if Trump's directive is implemented.
Lawsuits declared class actions are now effectively the only ones that can stop the president's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship nationwide. Any other challenges refer only to the individuals or groups directly involved.
Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order limiting the Constitutional rule that people born in the U.S. are citizens.
The ACLU and others filed the lawsuit hours after the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in late June, which halted nationwide injunctions.
"That's irreparable harm, citizenship alone...It is the greatest privilege that exists in the world," the judge said from the bench.
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