Democratic AGs sue Trump over birthright citizenship

Twenty-two Democrat-led states and two cities challenged President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, that on Tuesday kicked off the first legal battles between his new Justice Department and Democratic attorneys general.

The two separate lawsuits, filed in Massachusetts and Washington state, ask federal judges to rule the order contradicts the Constitution, which under the 14th Amendment bestows citizenship on anyone born in the United States.

“The principle of birthright citizenship has been enshrined in the Constitution for more than 150 years. The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment unambiguously and expressly confers citizenship on ‘[a]ll persons born’ in and ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States.”

Trump’s order, signed as part of a flurry of executive actions during his first day in office, seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawfully present. But it also applies to some parents in the U.S. on nonimmigrant visas, a broader category that blocks citizenship to children born to those with authorization to work in the U.S.

The states’ lawsuits follow a similar challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) late Monday. LINK