- Oct 17, 2011
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States, civil rights groups sue to stop Trump’s birthright citizenship order
Constitutional scholars said the president’s executive order would upend precedent and is unlikely to pass legal muster.Birthright citizenship was established by the 14th Amendment, passed by Congress in 1868, which includes a clause reading: “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.”
A coalition of 18 states, including New Jersey and New York, filed a lawsuit in Massachusetts, saying the order violates the constitutional rights of thousands of children and imposes undue costs on local jurisdictions that would lose federal funding tied to Medicaid and children’s health insurance.
In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers for Civil Rights filed separate legal challenges in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, respectively, on behalf of parents whose children would not be eligible for citizenship under Trump’s order.
The plan also faces significant logistical hurdles [in addition to constitutional ones]. The administration plans to enforce Trump’s order by withholding documents, such as passports, from people it deems ineligible for citizenship. But the administration hasn’t yet explained who — hospitals, health insurance companies, local or state governments, federal officials or some other authority — would review parents’ legal documents to assess whether their children could become citizens.
