ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled that the daughter of a married gay couple in Georgia who was born via surrogate in England has been an American citizen since birth. U.S. District Judge Michael Brown ordered the State Department to issue a U.S. passport for Simone Mize-Gregg, writing in an order issued Thursday that the girl is not required to be biologically related to both of her U.S. citizen parents to be eligible for citizenship. A State Department spokesperson says the Department of Justice is reviewing the ruling. The Trump administration has appealed similar decisions in Maryland and California.

ASSOCIATED PRESS
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a news briefing at the White House, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020, in Washington. A federal judge in Atlanta has ruled that the daughter of a married gay couple in Georgia who was born via surrogate in England has been an American citizen since birth. “That pertained to surrogacy and it had nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the parents," McEnany said of the ruling. “And this — this administration, president will proudly stand on a record of achievement like leading a global initiative to end the criminalization of homosexuality throughout the world, launching a plan to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, and easing a ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men.” (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

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