Nearly 20 states are suing the Trump administration over its executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants, calling it unconstitutional and “unprecedented.”
The lawsuit by 18 Democratic-led states states that “the president does not have the power to amend the Constitution or rewrite or invalidate duly enacted statutes, nor do he have any other authority to amend the Constitution or to rewrite or invalidate any duly enacted statute. It is not even authorized by the source of the law.”
“If this unprecedented administrative action is left unaddressed, Plaintiffs and their residents will suffer immediate and irreparable harm.”
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President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor presidential inaugural parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Trump signed the “Defending the Meaning and Values of American Citizenship” order, which abolishes birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants. The order clarifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states that “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 in which they reside.” I’m looking for.
This makes clear that people born to illegal immigrant parents or who were here on legal but temporary nonimmigrant visas are not birthright citizens.
President Trump’s order asserts: “Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to its jurisdiction, the privileges of U.S. citizenship automatically apply to those born in the United States. (1) the person’s mother was in the United States illegally and the father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the person’s birth, or (2) If the person’s mother was lawfully present in the United States at the time of the person’s birth; (without limitation) and the person’s time of birth if the father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
States claimed that thousands of children were born to parents with temporary or illegal status.
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“Under this order, children born on or after February 19, 2025, who would definitely have been considered citizens had they been born two days earlier, will be subject to no liability in the eyes of the federal government. It would also lack legal status,” the states argue. “They will all be deported and many will become stateless. They will lose the ability to access the myriad federal services available to their fellow Americans, and the Constitution guarantees citizenship. They would lose the right to participate in economic life and the civic life of their country: to work, vote, serve on juries, and run for certain offices. ”
President Donald Trump presents his second executive order during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
Signatories to the lawsuit include New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York. He is the attorney general of the states of North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The city and county of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have also signed on.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of another lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) “on behalf of organizations whose members would be deprived of citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil under this order.” , argued that the order was unconstitutional and contrary to the intent of Congress. Supreme Court precedent.
Four other states have since filed separate lawsuits: Illinois, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon.
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The Trump administration pushed back, saying it was prepared to take the case to court.
“The radical left can choose to go against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can go along with President Trump and work with him to support President Trump,” said Harrison Fields, White House chief deputy press secretary. “We can also push for policies that are very popular.” Fox News Digital.
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“These lawsuits are just an extension of the left’s resistance, and the Trump administration is prepared to litigate them in court,” he said.
FOX News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
Contact him at adam.shaw2@fox.com or at: Twitter.
