by Julianna Rodriguez
SAN FRANCISCO, California — On Jan. 21 of this year, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed suit against the Trump administration over President Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for those born to undocumented or unlawful immigrant parents.
Bonta, along with 18 state attorneys general, argues Trump’s executive order violates the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.”
This amendment grants citizenship to any child born on United States soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” aims to rescind the long-standing precedent set by the Supreme Court in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
Wong Kim Ark was a Chinese-American, San Francisco-born, who was denied entry rights to the country after his return from a trip abroad.
He fought to have his citizenship recognized, and his court case set the precedent for birthright citizenship of future children born in the country.
Bonta calls the president’s executive order “unconstitutional” and “un-American.”
He adds that California “condemns the President’s attempts to erase history and ignore 125 years of Supreme Court precedent” and asks that the court “immediately block this order from taking effect and ensure that the rights of American-born children impacted by this order remain in effect while litigation proceeds.”
He continues that the president “overstepped his authority by a mile with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”
Through the lawsuit against the Trump administration, Bonta emphasizes that ending birthright citizenship would be a violation of the protections and promises made in the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which extends to children born to immigrant parents.
By issuing this executive order, President Trump directs federal agencies to deny citizenship rights to “American-born children whose parents are not lawful residents,” as stated by Bonta.
This includes denying Social Security numbers and benefits, as well as United States passports.
Allowing the order to stand would deprive thousands of children of their ability to be participating members of the country.
They would lose their right to vote, eligibility for federal programs, and potentially face deportation.
The order would not only harm thousands of children but also various states, including California, which may “risk federal funding for programs that they administer such as Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program.”
Additionally, states would be required to modify the terms and operations of their benefits programs.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta states that President Trump’s executive order is a “flagrant violation of the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act and would cause irreparable harm to the states and their residents.”
The attorneys general involved in the lawsuit against Trump are seeking a nationwide preliminary injunction to maintain the status quo and Supreme Court precedent.
