A federal judge in Seattle is set to hear the first arguments in a multi-state lawsuit seeking to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents' immigration status. The session, scheduled by U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, will consider the request from Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. This case is one of five lawsuits being brought by 22 states and various immigrants' rights groups across the country.
The lawsuits argue that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizenship for people born and naturalized in the U.S., and states have been interpreting the amendment that way for a century. The amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, states: “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.”
Trump’s executive order, signed on Inauguration Day, asserts that the children of noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and orders federal agencies to not recognize citizenship for children who don't have at least one parent who is a citizen. The order is set to take effect on Feb. 19 and could impact hundreds of thousands of people born in the country, according to one of the lawsuits.
One of the lawsuits includes the case of a pregnant woman, identified as “Carmen,” who is not a citizen but has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent residency status. The suit argues that stripping children of citizenship is a grave injury and denies them the full membership in U.S. society to which they are entitled.
The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship is applied, with the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” being a key factor. Most countries that follow this principle are in the Americas, including Canada and Mexico.
Attorneys general, including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, have shared their personal connections to birthright citizenship, emphasizing the importance of this issue. Tong, a U.S. citizen by birthright, stated that there is no legitimate legal debate on this question and that Trump's order could inflict serious harm on American families.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for the interpretation of birthright citizenship in the United States and the rights of individuals born in the country to noncitizen parents.
