Trump Administration Hit with Slew of Lawsuits in Response to the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
Hours after being sworn into office, President Donald Trump signs additional executive orders during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office at the White House on Monday, January 20, 2025. (Image courtesy of the White House)
In the days following President Trump’s executive orders on January 20th, the administration now faces backlash from numerous organizations in response to his stance on birthright citizenship.
Article by Ella Doda, Senior Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON - One week has passed since President Trump returned to the Oval Office, and he has signed dozens of executive orders that reflect the goals of his first presidency and his past year on the campaign trail. Immigration, federal diversity programs, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate change are among the topics of executive orders that he has signed —some will be filed immediately following his decision. In contrast, others, like his executive order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” regarding birthright citizenship, will remain in the courts’ hands.
Birthright citizenship, one of the more controversial executive orders that President Trump signed on Monday, is a legal principle under which citizenship is automatically granted to individuals upon birth. In the United States, birthright citizenship was confirmed during the United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) case, which guarantees citizens protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. In the 6-2 decision, the Court ruled that all children born with immigrant parents are U.S. citizens regardless of their parent’s immigration status. The Supreme Court reaffirmed this case with the decision in Plyer v. Doe (1982), which ruled that states cannot discriminate against students based on their immigration status. President Trump proposes that the U.S. should ban birthright citizenship, which is considered a constitutional right in the U.S. If it is banned, President Trump and the court system will have overturned a century of precedent that has protected many Americans.
According to NPR, nearly two dozen state attorney generals and a group of pregnant mothers and immigrants’ rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the executive order. Many pregnant women fear that their child will be born stateless or with nowhere to go, stating that this is unconstitutional and dangerous for the future of children born to immigrant parents throughout the United States. The ban asserts that children of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are not entitled to U.S. citizenship, which includes foreign exchange students, tourists, or any child born to parents with temporary legal status.
As part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, President Trump proposes that the end of birthright citizenship is one of the next steps. On Monday night, President Trump stated that the United States is one of the only countries that offers birthright citizenship. However, dozens of countries offer birthright citizenship, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, and many other South American countries.
On Thursday, January 23, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown and U.S. District Judge John Coughenour temporarily blocked the executive order to end birthright citizenship. Brown sued the Trump administration claiming that the executive order is “unconstitutional, un-American, and cruel.” The emergency motion that was filed by Brown’s office blocked any federal agency from denying citizenship to infants born in the state following the executive order. This motion has stalled the executive order while the lawsuit is in review.
Revoking the constitutional right to birthright citizenship would require the Supreme Court to uproot legal precedent and the U.S. Constitution. The executive order is set to take effect beginning on February 19, 2025, for any children born on U.S. soil without at least one U.S. citizen parent. There are few details yet on how the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will implement this order in the following month.