Jan. 21 (UPI) — The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday night challenging President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship, a long-held right granted by the U.S. Constitution.
The executive order was among the first actions by Trump after being inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. The order states that a child born in the United States is not granted citizenship if their parents were “unlawfully present” in the country or if their presence was lawful but temporary — such as those on work or student visas — at the time of the child’s birth.
Trump had vowed during his campaign to end birthright citizenship on his first day in office, despite legal experts questioning his ability to do so. Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which grants citizenship to anyone who is born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ legal status.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire by the ACLU, accuses Trump and his administration of violating the Constitution with the executive order.
“Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional — it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values,” Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
“Birthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is. This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans.”
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 following the Civil War, was intended to grant citizenship to people who were born in the United States, including children of formerly enslaved Black people. That principle was confirmed by the landmark 1898 Supreme Court decision that stated children born in the United States to immigrants were entitled to U.S. citizenship.
The ACLU filed its lawsuit on behalf of immigration rights groups whose membership includes soon-to-be parents in the United States with a variety of immigration statuses, including some who have been in the country for more than a decade.
Stripping their future children of birthright citizenship is “a grave injury,” the lawsuit argues, that would create a subclass of people born in the United States but lack fundamental legal recognition.
“By attacking the principle that all children born in this country are citizens, the order will invite persistent questioning of the citizenship of children of immigrants — particularly children of color,” it states.
Once deemed noncitizens, the children will be denied their right to vote in federal elections and subjected to immigration enforcement, including arrest, detention and deportation to countries they have never been to, the lawsuit continues.
“Improperly threatening children with arrest, detention and deportation and forcing them to grow up in fear of immigration enforcement, imposes harms on those children and their parents,” it states.
“That fear is multiplied for parents who face further concern that their baby’s removal would be to a country where their lives or freedom would be in danger.”
The lawsuit ask the court to declare the executive order unconstitutional and enjoin the Trump administration from enforcing it.
After Trump announced the executive order, several Democratic governors came out against it.
In a brief statement, California Gov. Gavin Newsom simply said, “This is unconstitutional.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker warned, “this is only the start of attempts to undermine the rule of law, and Illinoisans can count on me to stand against unconstitutional actions.”
And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that they are reviewing the order and will take action to ensure those born in the state “have all the rights and protections that prior generations of new Americans have been granted.”
