By Ayo Kehinde
Attorneys General from 22 states have filed lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to non-citizen parents.
The lawsuits, filed on Tuesday, argue that the order violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on American soil.
Ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment 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.”
On Monday, President Trump signed the order, set to take effect on February 19, declaring that children born to undocumented immigrants, temporary visa holders, or individuals whose fathers are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents would no longer be granted citizenship.
The order further directs federal agencies not to recognize such individuals as U.S. citizens.
In response, 18 states, along with the cities of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit in the Federal District Court in Massachusetts.
They contend that birthright citizenship is a settled constitutional principle that neither the president nor Congress has the authority to alter.
“Birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment is automatic. The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who is a U.S. citizen by birthright, described the lawsuit as deeply personal, emphasizing the amendment’s role in shaping the nation’s identity and legal framework.
Four additional states filed a separate lawsuit in the Western District of Washington, with civil rights organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union joining the legal battle.
The White House dismissed the lawsuits as politically motivated. Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields called the legal challenges “an extension of the Left’s resistance,” asserting that President Trump is acting in line with public sentiment.
“Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump,” Fields said in a statement.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Michigan, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Additional lawsuits were filed by groups in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, led by Lawyers for Civil Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, respectively.
The legal battles over the executive order are expected to escalate, potentially reaching the Supreme Court.
Critics of the order argue that it represents an overreach of executive power, while supporters claim it aligns with the need to address illegal immigration.
