Over 20 states file lawsuit against Trump administration over birthright citizenship policy: "Historic"

Over two dozen states are challenging the Trump administration's effort to abolish birthright citizenship for the offspring of undocumented immigrants, asserting that it is a violation of the Constitution and an unprecedented move.

According to the lawsuit filed by 18 Democratic-led states, the President lacks the authority to revise or invalidate a constitutional amendment or enacted law. Additionally, the President has no legal authority to restrict citizenship at birth to specific individuals.

The argument claims that if the unprecedented executive action is not challenged, both plaintiffs and their residents will suffer immediate and irreparable harm.

Trump issued an order, "Clarifying the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," which ends birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants. The order aims to provide clarity on the 14th Amendment, which states that all individuals born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside.

Those born to illegal immigrant parents or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas are not citizens by birthright.

The Trump order asserts that individuals born in the United States and not subject to its jurisdiction are not automatically granted US citizenship if their mother was unlawfully present in the country at the time of birth, or if her presence was lawful but temporary and the father was not a US citizen or permanent resident.

Thousands of children are born to parents with temporary or illegal status, according to the states.

"The states contend that children born after February 19, 2025, who would have been considered citizens had they been born two days earlier, will have no legal status under the Order. These children will be deportable and many will be stateless. They will lose access to numerous federal services and their rights to participate in the economic and civic life of their country, including the ability to work, vote, serve on juries, and run for certain offices, despite the Constitution's guarantee of their citizenship."

The lawsuit has been signed onto by attorneys general of 18 states, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, and others, as well as the cities and counties of San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Another lawsuit has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of organizations with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order, claiming it is unconstitutional and against congressional intent and Supreme Court precedent.

A separate lawsuit was filed by four other states, including Illinois, Arizona, Washington, and Oregon.

The administration countered, stating its readiness to fight the lawsuit in court.

White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields stated on Planet Chronicle Digital that radical leftists have two options: they can go against the majority and reject President Trump's agenda, or they can join forces with him to advance it.

The Trump administration is prepared to confront these lawsuits, which are merely an extension of the Left's opposition, in court, as stated.

Planet Chronicle' Bill Mears contributed to this report.