NEW YORK - A leading Haitian-American legislator welcomed a United States federal district court ruling blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order terminating birthright citizenship from becoming...
effective anywhere in the country. On Thursday, Judge Joseph LaPlante of New Hampshire federal district court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the president’s order and certifying a class action lawsuit that includes all affected children. In his order, the judge issued a seven-day pause to permit appeal.
“I strongly condemn this dangerous and draconian attempt to strip away birthright citizen-ship – a fundamental right enshrined in the 14th Amendment – and a cornerstone of our American democracy,” New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told the Caribbean Media Corporation.
“It is outrageous that we are once again forced to defend the basic humanity and constitu-tional protections of immigrant children,” added the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, who represents the 42nd Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York. “Let me be clear: Presi-dent Trump’s executive order is not just unconstitutional, it is un-American,” said the daughter of Haitian immigrants. She said Trump is trying to send a menacing message to the children of immigrants,”like myself, that our place in this country is now conditionally based on our race – but we’re a country based on laws, built by immigrants. (The Gleaner)