The groups sued President Donald Trump and his administration on Jan. 20 over his order to end the birthplace citizenship of certain individuals born in the United States in the future.
According to the groups, the order violates the U.S. Constitution’s citizenship clause, which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States who are subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States.”
Trump’s order, signed within hours of his inauguration, says the clause “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to anyone born in the United States” and “has always excluded birthright citizenship from individuals born in the United States but not falling within ‘its jurisdiction.'”
Although most people born in the United States are citizens, citizenship is not automatically granted to those whose mothers are staying in the United States illegally and whose fathers are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents by order.
As Zachary Stieber reports to The Epoch Times, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups complaining about the order referred to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1898 ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which concluded that a boy born in the United States to Chinese citizens who were in the country at the time of his birth was a U.S. citizen.
The groups also referred to a law later passed by Congress that partially stipulated that a person born in the United States who “submits to its jurisdiction” must be a U.S. citizen by birth.
“Every child born in the United States should be born with the same rights as any other child — and that’s why the U.S. Constitution ensures that no politician can ever decide which of those born in our country is worthy of citizenship,” ACLU senior attorney SangYeob Kim said in a statement.
“Trump’s executive order is directly contrary to our Constitution, values and history, and it would create a permanent, multi-generational underclass of people born in the U.S. but denied full rights.”
Other groups complaining about the order include the National Association for the Advancement and Education of People of Color and the Asian Legal Caucus.
Meanwhile, 22 Democrat-led states and two cities have also challenged the EO. Two separate lawsuits, filed in Massachusetts and Washington state, have asked federal judges to rule that the order is unconstitutional, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. under the 14th Amendment.
“President Trump is now seeking to overturn this established and longstanding constitutional principle by the executive,” one state group wrote in its complaint.
“The principle of citizenship at birth has been enshrined in the Constitution for over 150 years. The citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment unequivocally and explicitly grants citizenship to “all persons born” in the United States and “subject to its jurisdiction.”
The White House has not yet commented on the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in New Hampshire.
The lawsuit seeks a court order declaring the policy unconstitutional and preventing the administration from enforcing it.
After reporters raised the possibility of potential legal challenges against the order’s success, Trump said Monday:
“We think we have good soil, but you might be right. You’ll find out.”
