President Donald Trump's effort to curtail birthright citizenship was declared unconstitutional by a second U.S. appeals court on Friday, handing him another defeat on a core piece of his hardline immigration agenda whose ultimate fate may lay with the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an injunction won by Democratic-led states and immigrant rights advocates that stopped the Republican president's executive order from taking effect. Trump's order, issued on his first day back in office on January 20, directs agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder.

The principle of

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