Nearly two dozen states have sued the Trump administration over President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright rights for the children of illegal immigrants – claiming it is unconstitutional and “unprecedented.”
“The President has no authority to rewrite or annul a constitutional amendment or a duly enacted statute. Nor is he authorized by any other source of law to limit who receives U.S. citizenship at birth,” according to the lawsuit from 18 Democratic-led states.
“If this unprecedented executive action is upheld, both plaintiffs and their residents will suffer immediate and irreparable harm,” the report states.
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President Donald Trump holds up an executive order after signing it during an indoor presidential inauguration parade in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Trump signed the orderr, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which ends the birthright rights of illegal immigrants. The order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states: “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.”
It makes clear that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on a temporary non-immigrant visa, are not citizens by birthright.
The Trump order argues: “Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to its jurisdiction, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when such person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when such person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful, but temporary (such as, but not limited to, a visit to the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or a visit on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a U.S. citizen at the time or lawful permanent resident of that person’s birth.”
The states argued that thousands of children are born to parents with temporary or illegal status.
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“Under the Order, such children born after February 19, 2025 – who would undoubtedly have been considered citizens had they been born two days earlier – will lack any legal status in the eyes of the federal government,” the states argue. “They will all be deportable, and many will be stateless. They will lose the ability to access numerous federal services available to their fellow Americans. And despite the Constitution’s guarantee of their citizenship, they will lose their right to participate in economic development. and the civic life of their own country – to work, to vote, to serve on juries and to run for certain offices.”
President Donald Trump presents the second executive order during the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)
Signing the lawsuit are attorneys general of New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. The city and county of San Francisco and Washington DC are also signatories.
The lawsuit comes shortly after another lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) “on behalf of organizations with members whose infants born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order…” and asserted that the order is unconstitutional and contrary to the intent of Congress and Supreme Court precedent.
Four other states, Illinois, Arizona, Washington and Oregon, later filed a separate lawsuit.
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The Trump administration pushed back, saying it was ready to tackle the lawsuit in court.
“Radical leftists can choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda,” said Harrison Fields, deputy White House press secretary. Fox News digital.
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“These lawsuits are nothing more than an extension of the left’s resistance — and the Trump administration is prepared to take them on in court,” he said.
Bill Mears of Fox News contributed to this report.
