NY, 21 other states sue Trump over birthright citizenship, calling executive order unconstitutional
President Donald Trump signs an executive order on birthright citizenship in the Oval Office on Monday. Credit: AP / Evan Vucci
New York and 21 other states have sued to stop President Donald Trump from ending birthright citizenship — a day after he signed an executive order attempting to gut what has been recognized as a constitutional right for more than 125 years.
The suit in which New York is a plaintiff, filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, asks that enforcement of the order immediately be halted, stopped permanently, and declared unconstitutional and unlawful, according to the office of New York's Attorney General Letitia James.
The suit was also filed by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, as well as the city of San Francisco.
Children affected by Trump's order, the suit says, "will lack any legal status in the eyes of the federal government. They will all be deportable, and many will be stateless."
Similar litigation has been filed by Arizona, Illinois, Washington and Oregon, as well as one case Monday night in a New Hampshire federal court by a coalition of groups including the American Civil Liberties Union.
Until Trump's order — which he signed on Monday, the same day he was inaugurated as the 47th president — the U.S. government has, since at least the late 1800s, considered the child of any immigrant born on U.S. soil an automatic citizen, even to a mother in the United States illegally.
"Birthright citizenship embodies America’s most fundamental promise: that all children born on our soil begin life as full and equal members of our national community, regardless of their parents’ origins, status, or circumstances," the New Hampshire lawsuit says, adding: "Now, flouting the Constitution’s dictates, statutory commands, and long-standing Supreme Court precedent, Defendant President Donald Trump ... attempts to upend one of the most fundamental American constitutional values by denying citizenship to children born on American soil to a mother who is ‘unlawfully present’ or temporarily present, and a father who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident."
Trump's order would go into effect Feb. 19.
Ending birthright citizenship has long been a policy goal of some who want stricter immigration laws. Some conservative scholars have argued that the wording of the 14th Amendment — saying citizenship must be granted to those "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States — should exclude born-in-America children of those who aren’t here legally.
That isn’t the consensus of most constitutional scholars, and although the Supreme Court hasn’t explicitly ruled whether these children are entitled to birthright citizenship, there are similar cases in which the court ruled that those children are automatically citizens, said retired Cornell Law School professor Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, who co-authored the treatise "Immigration Law & Procedure."
"Of all of the expected immigration orders," he said of Trump’s order, "that one is the most likely to be struck down by the courts."
Trump’s order is called "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship." He’s ridiculed birthright citizenship, saying "it’s ridiculous."
The order would also end automatic citizenship for those born to mothers temporarily and legally in the United States, such as the holder of a student, tourist or work visa, unless the father is a lawful permanent resident or a citizen.
New York and 21 other states have sued to stop President Donald Trump from ending birthright citizenship — a day after he signed an executive order attempting to gut what has been recognized as a constitutional right for more than 125 years.
The suit in which New York is a plaintiff, filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, asks that enforcement of the order immediately be halted, stopped permanently, and declared unconstitutional and unlawful, according to the office of New York's Attorney General Letitia James.
The suit was also filed by California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, as well as the city of San Francisco.
Children affected by Trump's order, the suit says, "will lack any legal status in the eyes of the federal government. They will all be deportable, and many will be stateless."
Similar litigation has been filed by Arizona, Illinois, Washington and Oregon, as well as one case Monday night in a New Hampshire federal court by a coalition of groups including the American Civil Liberties Union.
Until Trump's order — which he signed on Monday, the same day he was inaugurated as the 47th president — the U.S. government has, since at least the late 1800s, considered the child of any immigrant born on U.S. soil an automatic citizen, even to a mother in the United States illegally.
"Birthright citizenship embodies America’s most fundamental promise: that all children born on our soil begin life as full and equal members of our national community, regardless of their parents’ origins, status, or circumstances," the New Hampshire lawsuit says, adding: "Now, flouting the Constitution’s dictates, statutory commands, and long-standing Supreme Court precedent, Defendant President Donald Trump ... attempts to upend one of the most fundamental American constitutional values by denying citizenship to children born on American soil to a mother who is ‘unlawfully present’ or temporarily present, and a father who is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident."
Trump's order would go into effect Feb. 19.
Ending birthright citizenship has long been a policy goal of some who want stricter immigration laws. Some conservative scholars have argued that the wording of the 14th Amendment — saying citizenship must be granted to those "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States — should exclude born-in-America children of those who aren’t here legally.
That isn’t the consensus of most constitutional scholars, and although the Supreme Court hasn’t explicitly ruled whether these children are entitled to birthright citizenship, there are similar cases in which the court ruled that those children are automatically citizens, said retired Cornell Law School professor Stephen W. Yale-Loehr, who co-authored the treatise "Immigration Law & Procedure."
"Of all of the expected immigration orders," he said of Trump’s order, "that one is the most likely to be struck down by the courts."
Trump’s order is called "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship." He’s ridiculed birthright citizenship, saying "it’s ridiculous."
The order would also end automatic citizenship for those born to mothers temporarily and legally in the United States, such as the holder of a student, tourist or work visa, unless the father is a lawful permanent resident or a citizen.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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