Twenty-four Democratic-led states and cities have filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump over his attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S.
The lawsuits contend that an executive order signed by Trump on January 20 violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all children born in the country.
“Despite the President’s broad authority to shape immigration policy, the Citizenship Stripping Order exceeds the legal limits of his powers,” states the lawsuit filed by 18 states, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
The case could turn into a major Supreme Court confrontation over Trump’s second-term agenda. The 18 states filed their lawsuit in a federal court in Massachusetts, meaning any appeal would be heard by the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is entirely composed of judges appointed by Democratic presidents.
The Supreme Court has previously upheld birthright citizenship, and there is a federal law, passed before the 14th Amendment’s ratification in 1868, that affirms children born on U.S. soil are entitled to citizenship.
“The president can put forth a policy agenda he deems fit,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who is co-leading the lawsuit. “But when it comes to birthright citizenship—something that has been fundamental to this nation for centuries, embedded in the Constitution for 157 years since the Civil War, and upheld by the Supreme Court twice—the president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, rewrite the Constitution and undermine the rule of law.”
On Tuesday, attorneys general from Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Illinois filed their own lawsuit in a federal court in Seattle, which is under the jurisdiction of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Both lawsuits seek a preliminary injunction to block the policy before the Trump administration can implement it.
Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union and immigration rights groups filed similar lawsuits on Monday, challenging Trump’s executive order.
