On Tuesday, Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits in the states of Massachusetts and Washington in an effort to stop President Donald Trump’s efforts to end automatic birthright citizenship.
Trump reportedly signed an executive order on Monday that would restrict birthright citizenship to those who have at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
Not only do the 23 Democratic attorneys general oppose the proposal, but civil rights organizations have also launched their own case, making it an uphill struggle.
“This president has no regard for our Constitution and is waging a war against American families. We’ve filed a lawsuit, and I’m certain we’ll prevail,” Connecticut Attorney General William Tong stated.
The action was filed in federal court in Massachusetts by him and eighteen other attorneys general. The other action was filed by four states: Illinois, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon.
Trump’s proposal, according to the Massachusetts lawsuit, is a “flagrantly unlawful attempt to strip hundreds of thousands [of] American-born children of their citizenship based on their parentage.”
Trump’s plan aims to “abrogate this well-established and longstanding constitutional principle by executive fiat,” according to the lawsuit.
According to the Washington lawsuit, thousands of people would be impacted and the states would “suffer immediate and irreparable harm” if the legislation were to be put into effect. On a monthly basis, roughly 12,000 babies “will no longer be considered United States citizens,” according to the lawsuit.
It has long been acknowledged that, with the exception of diplomats’ children, everyone born in the United States is entitled to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
According to the amendment, everyone born or naturalized in the United States and falling under its authority is a citizen of the country.
Courts have plenty of time to block Trump’s proposal before it takes effect, which isn’t for another month.
The case was brought in Massachusetts federal court, which is under the purview of an appeals court with a preponderance of justices selected by Democrats.
In the 1898 decision of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court declared that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a citizen of the United States.
Despite having a conservative 6-3 majority that includes three justices selected by Trump, many legal experts predict that the court will likely reject the administration’s innovative interpretation of the law.