California, a coalition of other states and the city of San Francisco sued the federal government on Tuesday over President Trump's attempt to end birthright law via executive order – calling it an unconstitutional policy that contradicts long-standing legal precedent.
“I have a message for President Trump: See you in court,” said California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said during a morning news conference, calling the order “unconstitutional and frankly un-American.”
The lawsuit asks the court to block Trump's order from taking effect – which is expected to happen in less than 30 days – and to “ensure that the rights of U.S.-born children affected by this order are protected during litigation.” Stay strong,” Bonta said. “The president vastly exceeded his authority with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”
Bonta said Trump's order would affect more than 20,000 babies born in California each year. He noted that the state is home to about 11 million immigrants, who make up nearly 30% of the state's population and a third of its taxpaying workforce.
“I want to be clear that this is not a theoretical legal disagreement that I have with the president,” he said. “If this order remains in place, it would endanger thousands of U.S. citizens born next year – real children and families just trying to live their lives in peace.”
California is leading the litigation along with Massachusetts and New Jersey, with the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts, Bonta said. These states and San Francisco are joined as plaintiffs by the states of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
The lawsuit is a first for California against the new Trump administration, but likely won't be the last. The state sued the first Trump administration more than 100 times — often successfully — and Bonta said his office is reviewing other orders from Trump and considering further litigation.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, states that “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.”
In addition to the 14th Amendment, Bonta pointed out that the Supreme Court later upheld the right in 1898 after a San Francisco-born Chinese American named Wong Kim Ark requested recognition of his own citizenship. Congress also codified the birthright to citizenship in the Immigration and Nationality Act, the states argue in their lawsuit — which calls Trump's order an “executive decree.”
Children of foreign diplomats are considered a slight exception to the rule, but children of undocumented immigrants have not been excluded in the past.
Trump has harshly criticized birthright citizenship, saying it acts as a magnet for immigrant women to enter the United States illegally to have a child here – and then use that child's citizenship as a means to gain legal status themselves to acquire land.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he would immediately abolish birthright citizenship, pointing out federal authorities that they have been misinterpreting U.S. law for years.
Trump's executive order, one of many he signed after his inauguration on Monday, did just that, arguing that the 14th Amendment “was never construed to extend citizenship generally to all persons born in the United States” and “persons Those who do so have always been excluded from birthright citizenship.” were born in the United States but are not “subject to the jurisdiction there.”
This includes a child who was born in the United States while his mother was “unlawfully present in the United States” or had “lawful but temporary” status in the country, such as through a visa waiver program or under a student or tourist visa, and their father is not a US citizen nor is he a lawful permanent resident of the US.
The order stated that in the future no federal agency would be allowed to issue documents recognizing US citizenship for such children. It said the order applies to any child born in the United States within 30 days of Monday. He directed all federal agencies — including the Homeland Security and Social Security agencies — to respond within 30 days with guidance on how to implement the order.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a separate lawsuit Executive Director Anthony D. Romero challenged the same order late Monday, calling it “unconstitutional” and “a reckless and reckless rejection of American values.”
“The birthright to citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation it is. “This order seeks to repeat one of the most serious mistakes in American history by creating a permanent underclass of U.S.-born people who are denied full rights as Americans,” Romero said. “We will not allow this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans to go unchallenged. The Trump administration’s abuses are so egregious that we are confident we will ultimately prevail.”
Bonta said he has been thinking for months about how to protect immigrant families in California, that he was not surprised by Trump's decision to crack down on immigrant children on his first day in office and that he was encouraged by the coalition that has come together to fight back .
“I think it's fantastic that we are like-minded with other states that are engaged in this fight, committed to the rule of law, committed to strengthening constitutional rights and protecting them from the attacks of a president who breaks the law violates,” Bonta said. “This moment calls us all to action and service – and it means we must stand together and support one another.”
San Francisco City Atty. David Chiu, who accompanied Bonta at the press conference, called Trump's order a “tragedy” that must be stopped.
“Immigrants have made our country great, are critical to our economic success and central to the social and cultural fabric of our nation,” he said.
Immigrant advocates also joined Bonta and Chiu in condemning Trump's order, including Larry Yee, a longtime community activist and child of immigrants.
Yee, a member of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Assn. in San Francisco, said the organization fought for Ark more than 120 years ago and will not give up defending firstborn citizenship now.
“Whatever Trump says, we have to fight it with all our might,” Yee said. “Birthright is our right. It is our civil right. It is our economic right. And we will continue to fight it.”