Attorneys general from Connecticut and New York are among the 18 states that have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s executive order to end birthright citizenship.
The filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts claims that birthright citizenship is protected by the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Attorney General William Tong (D-CT), who said he became the first United States citizen in his immediate family because of birthright laws, said the order was “ a war on American people.”
“The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says; that if you are born on American soil or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, you're a citizen,” Tong said. “It is conclusive, as I said — no doubt, no ambiguity. And despite that, Donald Trump is trying to blow it up anyway.”
More than 7,000 babies are given birthright citizenship in Connecticut each year, according to Tong.
The lawsuit asks for immediate relief to keep it from taking effect on Feb. 19.
“Our constitution is not open to reinterpretation by executive order or presidential decree,” Attorney General Letitia James (D-NY) said. “President Trump’s attempt to undermine the fundamental right to birthright citizenship is not just unconstitutional, it is profoundly dangerous.”
In addition to Connecticut and New York, the following states and cities are part of the coalition filing the lawsuit: California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia, as well as the City of San Francisco.