A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The decision came in a case filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and three other states. 

The suit was filed by Illinois, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. It argued that the president’s executive order to block birthright citizenship for children whose parents are undocumented or on a temporary visa violated the 14th amendment and Supreme Court case law cementing the right.  

U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour of Washington called the order “blatantly unconstitutional” in his decision.  

Raoul also addressed a memo from the Department of Justice saying that state and local officials who do not cooperate with immigration enforcement could be prosecuted.  

“Despite what he may say to the contrary, the president cannot unilaterally re-write the Constitution,” the statement said. “The president has made troubling threats to weaponize the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecutorial authority and resources to attack public servants acting in compliance with their state laws, interfering with their ability to build trust with the communities they serve and protect. Right now, these vague threats are just that: empty words on paper. But rest assured, our states will not hesitate to respond if these words become illegal actions.” 

Raoul also issued an updated guidance Thursday to state, county and local law enforcement agencies to clarify their roles in enforcing federal immigration laws.  

The guidance clarified provisions of the Illinois TRUST Act and the Voices of Immigrant Communities Empowering Survivors (VOICES) Act that prohibit law enforcement from participating in federal immigration enforcement. The acts also created procedural requirements to help victims of human trafficking and violent crime.  

Law enforcement also cannot give federal law enforcement agents information about individuals in custody, including release dates. Officers also cannot stop, arrest, search or detain individuals based solely on their immigration status.  

“Civil immigration enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government,” Raoul said in a statement. “State law does not grant local law enforcement the authority to enforce federal civil immigration laws. This includes participating, supporting or assisting in any capacity with federal immigration enforcement operations unless federal agents have a criminal warrant or federal law specifically requires it.”  

Raoul is not the only constitutional officer releasing memos regarding federal immigration enforcement.  

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias sent a memo to DMV employees Tuesday reminding them that the office does not release information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Patrol unless they have a court order, judicial warrant or subpoena for individual records, as was reported by Politico.  

Non-citizens, including undocumented immigrants, can get a standard driver’s license or state ID in Illinois, with nearly 180,000 doing so since the law passed in 2023.