Attorney General James And Multistate Coalition Challenge Trump’s Executive Order On Birthright Citizenship
New York Attorney General Letitia James, alongside a coalition of 18 states and the City of San Francisco, has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeks to block the executive order, which the coalition argues violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and endangers the rights of children born in the United States.
“This nation’s promise is rooted in the principle that all individuals born here are citizens of the United States, entitled to pursue the American dream,” said Attorney General James. “The right to birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th Amendment, is fundamental and cannot be dismantled by executive order. President Trump’s attempt to rewrite the Constitution is not only unconstitutional but also deeply dangerous. Today, we stand together to preserve the integrity of our Constitution and protect the promise of birthright citizenship for all.”
The lawsuit argues that the executive order undermines centuries of legal precedent and threatens to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. based on their parents’ immigration status. If implemented, the order could have devastating consequences, including denying affected children access to Social Security numbers, federal benefits, legal work opportunities, and other essential rights and privileges of citizenship.
The coalition has also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to prevent the executive order from taking effect. If the order stands, it will take effect on February 19, stripping children born to parents on certain visas or who are undocumented of their constitutional rights and placing them at risk of deportation.
The right to birthright citizenship, established in the 14th Amendment and reinforced by landmark Supreme Court decisions, was designed to ensure equal rights for all children born in the U.S., regardless of their parents’ status. Attorney General James emphasized that this protection emerged after the Civil War as a response to the Dred Scott decision, which denied citizenship to enslaved individuals and their descendants.
The lawsuit is supported by attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and the City of San Francisco.
This case is being handled for New York by Special Counsel for Immigrant Justice Zoe Levine, Special Counsel for Federal Initiatives Rabia Muqaddam, and Special Counsel Molly Thomas-Jensen, with additional support from Assistant Attorneys General Kathryn Meyer and Ivan Navedo, under the supervision of First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
