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Bid to Block Trump’s Cancellation of Birthright Citizenship Moves to Federal Court

A federal court is set to hear a case challenging President Trump’s attempt to cancel birthright citizenship in the US.

A federal judge in Seattle is set to hear the first arguments in a multi-state lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, regardless of the parents’ immigration status. 

US District Judge John Coughenour is presiding over the case brought by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. 

This is one of five lawsuits filed by 22 states and various immigrant rights groups nationwide.

The lawsuits include personal accounts from attorneys general who are US citizens by birthright, along with stories of pregnant women concerned their children might not gain US citizenship. 

Trump’s order, signed on Inauguration Day, is scheduled to take effect on February 19. It could impact hundreds of thousands of children born in the US, with one lawsuit citing 2022 figures of approximately 255,000 births to mothers living in the US illegally and 153,000 births to parents both lacking legal status.

The United States is one of roughly 30 countries, mainly in the Americas, that apply the principle of “jus soli,” or “right of the soil.” The lawsuits argue that the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees citizenship to all individuals born or naturalized in the country. 

The amendment 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 contends that children of noncitizens are not subject to US jurisdiction and directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to children without at least one citizen parent. Critics argue this position contradicts legal precedent, citing the landmark 1898 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed the citizenship of a man born in the US to Chinese immigrant parents.

While some advocates for stricter immigration policies claim the Wong Kim Ark ruling applies only to children of legal immigrants, others argue the 14th Amendment’s intent is clear. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a US citizen by birthright and the first Chinese American elected to his role, called the order personal, saying, 

“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 also highlights the case of “Carmen,” a pregnant woman who has lived in the US for over 15 years and has a pending visa application. Her suit argues that revoking birthright citizenship causes severe harm, stating, 

“Stripping children of the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship is a grave injury. It denies them the full membership in US society to which they are entitled.”

Faridah Abdulkadiri

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