Twenty-four Democratic-led states and cities are suing President Donald Trump over his attempt to end birthright citizenship in the US.
The lawsuits argue that an executive order signed by Trump on January 20 violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to all children born in the United States.
“Despite the broad powers a president has to set immigration policy, the Citizenship Stripping Order far exceeds the legal authority of the President,” states a lawsuit filed by 18 states, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.
This case could become the first major Supreme Court battle over Trump’s second-term agenda. The 18 states filed in a federal court in Massachusetts, meaning any appeals would go through the First US Circuit Court of Appeals, where all the judges are Democratic appointees.
The Supreme Court has upheld birthright citizenship in the past, and there is also a federal law, predating the 14th Amendment’s 1868 ratification, that guarantees citizenship to children born on US soil.
“The president is entitled to propose a policy agenda he deems appropriate,” said New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who is co-leading the lawsuit. “But when it comes to birthright citizenship – which has been a cornerstone of this nation for centuries, enshrined 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.”
Additionally, on Tuesday, the attorneys general of Washington, Arizona, Oregon, and Illinois filed their own lawsuit on the West Coast.
This suit was filed in a federal court in Seattle, within the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Both lawsuits are seeking a preliminary order to block the policy before the Trump administration can move forward with its implementation.
Similar lawsuits were also filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and immigration rights groups on Monday.
