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Crisis

22 States Sue to Block Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship

U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

 

Attorneys general from 22 states have filed a lawsuit to challenge President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, a long-standing principle enshrined in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

 

The executive order, issued Monday, aims to bar automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children whose parents are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. The policy, set to take effect on February 19, 2025, marks a controversial shift in immigration law and has sparked a heated legal and political battle.

 

Birthright citizenship guarantees that anyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. It is rooted in the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, which states: “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 wherein they reside.”

 

However, Trump’s order interprets the amendment differently, excluding children born to mothers in the U.S. without legal status or on temporary visas, unless their fathers are U.S. citizens or lawful residents.

 

While the 14th Amendment has been a cornerstone of U.S. citizenship for over a century, Trump’s order challenges its application. Historically, its provisions have faced scrutiny, such as during the 1898 Supreme Court case *United States v. Wong Kim Ark*, which affirmed citizenship for children of legal immigrants born in the U.S.

 

Critics argue that Trump’s order contradicts constitutional protections and could lead to a redefinition of citizenship rights in the United States.

 

Attorneys general from states including California, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey have joined the lawsuit to block the order. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said, “The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period.”

 

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a U.S. citizen by birthright, emphasized the importance of the amendment, saying, “If you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop.”

 

Immigrant rights groups, including chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, have also filed lawsuits, arguing that the executive order unlawfully strips children of their citizenship and violates constitutional principles.

 

The legal challenge to the executive order is expected to be a lengthy and contentious process, potentially heading to the Supreme Court. For now, the battle over birthright citizenship highlights deep divisions in the U.S. over immigration policy and constitutional interpretation.

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