The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) late Monday launched a suit challenging an executive order from President Trump seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawfully present.
It’s an order that contradicts the Constitution, which bestows citizenship on anyone born in the United State regardless of the status of their parents.
“Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional — it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values. Birthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is. This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans,” Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
“We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged. The Trump administration’s overreach is so egregious that we are confident we will ultimately prevail.”
The ACLU suit, filed in New Hampshire on behalf of clients whose children would not be recognized as citizens under the order, argues the order violates the 14th Amendment as well as the Administrative Procedures Act.
The 14th Amendment state: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdictions thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
In a call earlier Monday to preview executive orders, a Trump administration official seemed to acknowledge potential problems with the order, saying it would be carried out on a “prospective basis.”
“On a prospective basis, the federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States,” the official said.
Nonetheless, the order frames citizenship as “a priceless and profound gift,” casting the order itself as one that protects “the meaning and value” of American citizenship.
