Attorneys general from 22 states filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to block President Donald Trump‘s plan to end birthright citizenship, which has been in place for over a century, according to AP News.
Birthright citizenship means that children born in the U.S. are citizens, no matter their parents’ immigration status. This practice was established after the Civil War when Congress approved the 14th Amendment in July 1868, guaranteeing citizenship for everyone, including Black people.
“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,”
the 14th Amendment says.
“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”
Trump’s executive order, which is about 700 words long and was issued late Monday, challenges this amendment. This move is something he has discussed during his presidential campaign. It hints at a long legal battle over the president’s immigration policies and the right to citizenship.
“The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period,”
New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.
The White House said it is prepared to go to court against the states and referred to the lawsuits as
“nothing more than an extension of the Left’s resistance.”
White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said,
“Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump.”
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
