Oakland, CA – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a strong statement ahead of a crucial court hearing challenging President Trump’s executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship. The hearing will address California’s motion for a preliminary injunction to block the order’s implementation.
Attorney General Bonta declared, “President Trump’s executive order demonstrates a blatant disregard for the law and the limits of presidential authority. This attempt to unilaterally overturn the Fourteenth Amendment and rewrite the U.S. Constitution is unacceptable. We are in court to secure a preliminary injunction to prevent this harmful order from taking effect while the legal challenge proceeds. I am committed to defending the rights of all American-born children.”
The Legal Challenge:
In January 2025, Attorney General Bonta joined a coalition of 18 state attorneys general and the City and County of San Francisco in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The lawsuit argues that the executive order:
- Violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
- Violates Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
- Contradicts over 125 years of established Supreme Court precedent.
The Executive Order’s Impact:
President Trump’s executive order, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” seeks to redefine birthright citizenship, denying it to children born in the U.S. to mothers who are unlawfully or temporarily lawfully present, and whose fathers are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. This would:
- Disenfranchise thousands of children: An estimated 24,500 children in California alone would lose their citizenship, basic rights (including the right to work, vote, and serve on juries), and face the threat of deportation.
- Severely impact state funding: The order would drastically cut federal funding for vital services supporting vulnerable children, including healthcare, foster care, and early intervention programs. States would face significant, immediate costs to modify their programs by the order’s February 19 effective date.
The Attorney General’s office is working to prevent the devastating consequences of this executive order and ensure that all children born in the United States are afforded their constitutional rights.
A link to the states’ reply in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction can be found here.
