Democratic-Led States and Civil Rights Groups Challenge Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Rollback

Democratic-Led States and Civil Rights Groups Challenge Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Rollback

by Reuters News Service
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On Tuesday, following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, a wave of legal battles began as Democratic-led states and civil rights organizations filed lawsuits against his executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship. This order mandates that U.S. agencies should not recognize the citizenship of children born to non-U.S. citizen or non-legal permanent resident parents.

The lawsuits were filed by twenty-two states led by Democrats, including the District of Columbia and San Francisco, in federal courts in Boston and Seattle. These actions argue that Trump’s move contravenes the U.S. Constitution. Concurrently, the American Civil Liberties Union, various immigrant advocacy groups, and an expectant mother also lodged similar complaints shortly after the order was signed, marking the first significant legal challenge to the Trump administration’s policies.

This legal pushback targets a key element of Trump’s broader immigration policy. According to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, if upheld, the executive order would strip citizenship from over 150,000 children born in the U.S. each year, denying them access to federal benefits like Medicaid and, later, legal employment and voting rights.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin emphasized the commitment to defending residents’ constitutional rights in response to the new policy.

The White House has yet to comment on these legal challenges. More lawsuits are anticipated, focusing on other policies like those impacting civil service job protections and the operations of the Department of Government Efficiency under Elon Musk.

Legal Grounds and Precedents

The lawsuits predominantly leverage the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. They reference the 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed that children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents are U.S. citizens.

Three lawsuits were initiated in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, composed entirely of Democratic appointees, would review any decisions. Another lawsuit was filed in Washington state under the jurisdiction of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, with a hearing scheduled for Thursday to consider a temporary restraining order against the enforcement of Trump’s directive.

An additional case in Maryland was brought by pregnant women and immigrant rights groups, including CASA, further contesting the executive order.

Apart from birthright citizenship, other lawsuits addressing Trump’s early executive actions are in progress. Notably, the National Treasury Employees Union has contested an order that facilitates the dismissal and political replacement of federal workers.

These legal actions reflect a broad and immediate resistance to Trump’s policy shifts, testing the boundaries of executive power against constitutional rights and established legal precedents.

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