New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin is leading a coalition involving 18 states to challenge President Donald Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship.
Trump signed the order shortly after his inauguration Monday. It stipulates that his administration will not recognize birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status. On Tuesday, Platkin and attorneys general from 17 other states, plus Washington D.C. and San Francisco, filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts to invalidate Trump's executive order. In Seattle, four other states filed a second lawsuit. Pennsylvania is not involved in either lawsuit, the state attorney general's office confirmed.
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"President Trump’s attempt to unilaterally end birthright citizenship is a flagrant violation of our Constitution," Platkin said in a statement. "… State Attorneys General have been preparing for illegal actions like this one, and today’s immediate lawsuit sends a clear message to the Trump Administration that we will stand up for our residents and their basic constitutional rights."
Birthright citizenship was established through the 14th Amendment, which was passed by Congress in 1868 and includes a clause that reads, "All people 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." It didn't always guarantee citizenship to all people born in the United States, as Congress didn't authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in America until 1924.
Trump's executive order alleges that the 14th Amendment "has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States." It also states that U.S. citizenship will no longer automatically be extended to people born to immigrant parents who are in the country without authorization, provided neither parent is a U.S. citizen or green card holder.
The executive order would take effect on Feb. 19 — 30 days from Tuesday. The states' lawsuit seeks to request "immediate relief" to prevent the order from taking effect through a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
Along with causing thousands of people to lose their citizenship rights, the order would also cause states to lose federal funding tied to programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and foster care and adoption assistance programs, according to a release from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's office.
"Yesterday’s announcement about birthright citizenship flouts the Constitution and will needlessly harm families who are lawfully present in the United States until it is inevitably overturned by the courts," Murphy (D) said in the release. "We will not waver in our efforts to protect the rights of all who call New Jersey home."
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers for Civil Rights also filed separate legal challenges against the order in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively.
"The Trump administration’s executive order that attempts to strip citizenship from certain children born in the United States does not have the power to override the Constitution," Amol Sinha, executive director of ACLU New Jersey, said in a statement. "The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that every child born in the United States is a citizen regardless of race, color, or ancestry – and that right is fundamental to the promise of our nation. … It’s clear that New Jersey will not be intimidated by authoritarianism. Instead, our state will lead by example in defending civil rights and liberties for all who call it home."
