Judge shoots down Trump admin request for more time in birthright citizenship case, says DOJ is dragging its feet

Source: Law & Crime

Apr 10th, 2025, 12:51 pm


A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump has scolded his administration and the Justice Department for dragging its feet in an ongoing birthright citizenship case, denying a request Wednesday for more time after firmly telling the DOJ that motions for extensions were “discouraged.”

“Defendants appear to have had access to the relevant pleadings — both in this case and in the other identified cases — for at least two months,” a minute order read from U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on Wednesday. “And despite Defendants’ conclusory assertion of ‘good cause shown,’ they do not explain why they were unable to file any response to the Complaint — or the contemplated motion to stay — before the expiration of the current deadline,” the minute order said.

Kelly, appointed by Trump in 2017, noted the court’s standing order issued on Jan. 31, the day after the birthright citizenship case was first filed, outlining the rules and details of the ongoing proceedings. The order included specific guidelines about what would be required if the government wanted an extension.

Kelly said Wednesday that the DOJ followed none of them with its Monday motion for an extension. “Paragraph 10 of the Court’s 6 Standing Order requires parties to submit extension motions ‘at least four days prior to the deadline at issue,'” his minute order said. “If a party cannot comply with this four-day requirement, it shall explain why it cannot do so in its motion,” the standing order explained, adding that “such motions will be granted only upon motion and not upon stipulation of the parties” involved.

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