A federal judge temporarily halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship, a constitutional guarantee granting citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour issued the ruling in a case brought by Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon, which argued that the 14th Amendment and long-standing Supreme Court precedents firmly establish the principle of birthright citizenship.
This case is one of five lawsuits filed by 22 states and various immigrant rights groups. The lawsuits include personal accounts from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, as well as stories from pregnant women fearing their children may not receive citizenship.
Trump signed the executive order on Inauguration Day, with it slated to take effect on February 19. If implemented, it could affect hundreds of thousands of individuals, including the approximately 255,000 children born in 2022 to mothers without legal status, according to one lawsuit.
Birthright citizenship, rooted in the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil,” is recognized in about 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, including Canada and Mexico. Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship for all individuals born or naturalized in the U.S., declaring, “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 order claims children of noncitizens are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction and directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to individuals without at least one citizen parent. This interpretation challenges a landmark 1898 Supreme Court case, which ruled Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants, was a U.S. citizen despite the restrictions of the Chinese Exclusion Act.
Proponents of Trump’s order argue the ruling applies only to children of legal immigrants, leaving the status of children born to undocumented parents unclear. However, opponents, including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a birthright citizen and the first Chinese American elected to his position, argue the order is unconstitutional and harmful. Tong stated, “There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own.”
One lawsuit highlights “Carmen,” a pregnant woman who has lived in the U.S. for over 15 years and has a pending visa application. The suit argues that denying citizenship is a “grave injury,” stripping children of their rightful place in U.S. society and the “priceless treasure” of citizenship.
