An American judge temporarily suspended Thursday the questioning of the soil law ordered by Donald Trump, a sign that the anti-immigration offensive wanted by the republican billionaire is promised to a long legal battle.
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“It is a manifestly unconstitutional order,” said the federal magistrate John Coughenour, quoted by local media during a hearing in Seattle. Joined by phone, a court clerk confirmed the suspension to AFP.
In the wake of his presidential inauguration on Monday, Donald Trump signed a decree returning to soil law, a principle devoted by the 14th amendment to the American Constitution and applied for more than 150 years in the United States.
This measure was immediately challenged by 22 US states, including California and New York, and several associations. They brought several procedures, pointing to his unconstitutionality.
“Frankly, I find it difficult to understand how a member of the bar can affirm unequivocally that it is a constitutional order,” added Judge Coughenour, by suspending the decree. “It puzzles me.”
The decree was to prohibit the federal government from issuing passports, citizenship certificates or other documents to children whose mother illegally or temporarily stays in the United States, and whose father is not an American citizen or permanent resident – holder of the famous green card.
According to many lawyers, this presidential decree risks triggering a legal battle likely to go up to the Supreme Court.
By signing it, Trump himself admitted to expect disputes in court.
“I think we have good justifications, but you might be right,” he said, faced with a journalist who questioned him about possible procedures.
The president had also judged that soil law is a “ridiculous” principle, and had falsely affirmed that the United States would be “the only” to apply it.
In reality, dozens of countries recognize soil law, including Canada, Mexico and France.
-“Anti -American”
The procedure judged Thursday in Seattle was brought by the general prosecutors of four states: that of Washington, Arizona, Oregon and Illinois.
They pointed out that this decree could deprive law 150,000 newborns each year in the United States, and risked making some of them stateless.
“We must hope that this unconstitutional and anti -American decree will never come into force,” said Washington’s state prosecutor Nick Brown in a press release greeting the suspension.
“Citizenship cannot be conditioned by race, ethnicity or the origin of parents,” added the Democrat. “It is the law of our nation, recognized by generations of lawyers, legislators and presidents, until the illegal action of President Trump.”
Arizona’s general prosecutor, Kris Mayes, praised “a victory for the rule of law”
“No president can modify the Constitution on a whim and today’s decision affirms it,” added the elected democrat in a statement.
According to her, this decision “is the first of many victories to come (…) against the cases of excess of power of the executive”.
In addition to the questioning of soil law, Trump signed other decrees on Monday to launch a vast anti-immigration offensive, which he erected in absolute priority of his return to power.
He notably declared the state of emergency to the border between the United States and Mexico, and sent the army there to ensure surveillance. He also intends to tackle asylum rights.
“The administration will really try to push the limits” and see if its measures “survive the courts”, had explained Monday to AFP Cris Ramon, of the UNIDOSUS NGO, recalling that the role of the army is him also circumscribed by law.
The first mandate of the Republican president had already been marked by numerous passes in judicial arms on immigration with several states led by democrats and associations for the defense of migrants.
