Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s attempt to end the long-standing policy of birthright citizenship, which grants U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Trump’s executive order, issued Monday night and totaling approximately 700 words, fulfills a campaign promise but is expected to trigger a prolonged legal battle over immigration policies.
Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights groups argue that the principle of birthright citizenship is well-established law, emphasizing that while presidents have significant powers, they are not above constitutional limits.
“The president cannot simply erase the 14th Amendment with the stroke of a pen—period,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin.
In response, the White House expressed confidence in its position and dismissed the lawsuits as “just another extension of the Left’s resistance.”
Birthright citizenship, rooted in the 14th Amendment, ensures that children born in the U.S., even to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas, automatically gain citizenship. Ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, the amendment declares: “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.”
Trump’s order challenges this interpretation, seeking to deny automatic citizenship to children born to mothers who are in the U.S. illegally, fathers who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, or parents temporarily in the country. It directs federal agencies to stop recognizing citizenship in these cases and is set to take effect on February 19, 30 days after its announcement.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, the first Chinese American in the role and a birthright citizen himself, called the lawsuit deeply personal. Similarly, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin reiterated that no president has the authority to disregard constitutional provisions.
States joining the lawsuit include California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, alongside D.C. and San Francisco.
