18 states have filed a lawsuit over US President Donald Trump’s attempt to revoke the citizenship of migrant children who received it by birthright on American soil.
The lawsuit claims Trump’s executive order, signed on the first day of his presidency, violates the 14th Amendment, which says people born on American soil are U.S. citizens at birth.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 18 Democratic-controlled states, as well as the District of Columbia (that is, the city of Washington, which does not have state status) and the mayor’s office of San Francisco in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts. Previously, a similar lawsuit was filed by the human rights organization ACLU.
On the first day of his new presidential term, Trump signed an executive order declaring that U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants or aliens in the country legally but temporarily without permanent residency do not have an automatic right to citizenship.
As the plaintiffs note, this contradicts the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1868, and the interpretation of the meaning of this amendment by American courts for more than 100 years. Until now, the only exception has been the U.S.-born children of accredited foreign diplomats.
The White House has not yet responded to the lawsuits against the birthright citizenship order.
Whatever decision the court makes in Boston, the parties will be able to appeal it to the appellate courts and then to the Supreme Court. Six of the nine Supreme Court justices are appointed by Republican presidents (including three by Trump himself), but they do not always support decisions that meet his wishes.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.