New York Joins Lawsuit Against Trump Order Eliminating Birthright Citizenship

• New York joins lawsuit against Trump order
• Trump signs anti-immigration order
• Case reaches the Supreme Court

New York City announced on Thursday that it is joining an ongoing legal challenge against former President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at eliminating the right to birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.

The order, signed on the very day Trump began his second term, is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

New York speaks out for the children of undocumented immigrants

Why it matters

This executive order challenges one of the most fundamental constitutional principles of the United States: the right to citizenship by birth, enshrined in the 14th Amendment.

If implemented, it would affect thousands of children born on U.S. soil to parents without legal immigration status, automatically denying them citizenship.

What happened

Mayor Eric Adams announced that New York City has filed an amicus curiae brief in the case, allowing the city to present arguments to the Supreme Court without being a direct party in the lawsuit.

In his statement, Adams defended the constitutional tradition that has guaranteed birthright citizenship for over 150 years.

“Any action that attempts to undermine it is directly opposed to everything we stand for in this city and across the nation,” Adams said in a statement.

The original lawsuit was filed by a pregnant undocumented woman and two nonprofit organizations the day after Trump signed the order on January 20.

The legal brief filed by the city also warns that measures like this instill fear among immigrants, which can directly impact public safety and health.

“No one should be afraid to call the police, send their children to school, or go to a hospital for the care they need. When people are afraid, we are all less safe,” the argument continues.

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Adams also noted that this policy directly impacts the local economy and undermines New York’s identity and diversity.

“It undermines who we are as a people,” he concluded.

Background on efforts to eliminate birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants

This is not the first time Trump’s policy has faced legal resistance.

In January, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked enforcement of this same executive order after a lawsuit was filed by the states of Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.

“It’s a blatantly unconstitutional order,” said U.S. District Judge John Coughenour to the Justice Department attorney.

Twenty-two other jurisdictions—including New York, California, the District of Columbia, and San Francisco—have filed similar lawsuits. Plaintiffs argue that the order imposes undue costs on states, violates constitutional rights, and exceeds presidential authority.

At the heart of the dispute is the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, which states:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
This amendment overturned the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) decision and was reaffirmed in 1898 by a Supreme Court ruling that confirmed birthright citizenship also applies to children of immigrants.

Hardline immigration advocates claim the policy aims to curb so-called “birth tourism” or the practice of having an “anchor baby,” though most constitutional scholars agree that a president cannot revoke this right through executive order.

“He’s doing something that will upset a lot of people, but ultimately this will be decided by the courts,” said Saikrishna Prakash, a law professor at the University of Virginia.

Do you believe birthright citizenship should be constitutionally protected without exception? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Source: EFE / BBC