By Lindsay Press
New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with eighteen other state attorneys general and the city of San Francisco’s AG, have announced that they are challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order to an end to birthright citizenship which she said violates the Fourteenth Amendment. James and the coalition filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, aiming to stop the President’s unlawful move, which violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and will hurt American children.
James and the coalition aim to invalidate the executive order and prevent any actions taken to enforce it. The states are requesting immediate relief to stop the executive order from taking effect through a preliminary injunction filed with the court.
The lawsuit contends that birthright citizenship has been a part of the United States of America since centuries before the Civil War. Although the Supreme Court did make the notorious decision to deny birthright citizenship to children of slaves in the Dred Scott lawsuit, the post-Civil War America embraced the Fourteenth Amendment to protect citizenship for children born in the country. James also references that the U.S. Supreme Court has supported birthright citizenship twice, acknowledging it as law regardless of the immigration standing of the child’s parents.
If the Executive Order remains in place, James said, it will result in babies no longer being entitled to citizenship under federal law for the first time since 1868. Beginning on February 19, babies who are born to parents who are lawfully in the United States on visas or are undocumented will not have access to their most basic human rights and will grow up in danger of deportation. These children will not be eligible for various federal benefits programs. They will not be able to get a Social Security number. As they grow older, they will not be able to work legally. Their access to health and food benefits will be threatened. They will be unable to vote, participate in jury duty, or run for office. Although the Constitution guarantees citizenship, these children will lose their ability to participate in American society, benefits, and privileges if President Trump’s Executive Order gets implemented.
The Fourteenth Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States.” It also references, “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
In filing the lawsuit, Attorney General James is joined by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, and the City of San Francisco.
“The great promise of our nation is that everyone born here is a citizen of the United States, able to achieve the American dream, ” James said. “This fundamental right to birthright citizenship, rooted in the 14th Amendment and born from the ashes of slavery, is a cornerstone of our nation’s commitment to justice. Our constitution is not open to reinterpretation by executive order or presidential decree, President Trump’s attempt to undermine the fundamental right to birthright citizenship is not just unconstitutional, it is profoundly dangerous. Today, we are suing to uphold the integrity of the U.S. Constitution and ensure the promise of birthright citizenship remains intact for all who are born here.”
Long Island Life & Politics has reached out to Trump’s office, but did not hear back as of press time.