The birthright citizenship debate exploded back into the national discourse this week after President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning it. 

Trump’s ban was slated to take effect on Feb. 19, but a federal judge in Seattle on Thursday temporarily blocked the order. Some experts believe the issue will eventually be settled by the Supreme Court.

Should the ban eventually go into force, it would likely impact tens of thousands of children born to the parents of illegal immigrants.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23, 2025. Trump signed an executive order this week reigniting debate around birthright citizenship. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump’s order, titled “Protecting The Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

It clarifies that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright.

“The Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,” the order reads. 

Trump repeatedly described birthright citizenship as “ridiculous” and something that needed to stop. The U.S. is one of roughly 30 countries where birthright citizenship is applied. 

Thursday’s decision by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, comes in response to four U.S. states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington — who sued to block Trump’s executive order, which was signed by Trump shortly after being sworn in as president. 

Coughenour said Thursday that the executive order banning birthright citizenship “boggles the mind,” and told the court he could not remember in his more than 40 years on the bench seeing a case so “blatantly unconstitutional.”

The 14-day restraining order granted by Coughenour will apply to the entire U.S.

Migrants at the front of the line are processed for entry by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Debate has reignited over whether the children of illegal migrants born in the U.S. are entitled to citizenship. (Jon Michael Raasch/Fox News Digital)

In the meantime, the administration can ask a federal appeals court in San Francisco to lift the TRO and allow enforcement for now, while the case is litigated—a process that could last many months.

A Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News said it will “vigorously defend” President Trump’s executive order “which correctly interprets the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”

“We look forward to presenting a full merits argument to the Court and to the American people, who are desperate to see our nation’s laws enforced.”

Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch and David Spunt contributed to this report