• Slug: Birthright Citizenship. 815 words.
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By Emma Paterson
Cronkite News

WASHINGTON – Arizona and 21 other states went to court Tuesday hoping to block President Donald Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship for children born to non-Americans.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.” Gov. Katie Hobbs, a fellow Democrat, blasted it as both “unconstitutional and un-American.”

“We should protect what makes our country exceptional, not tear it down,” Hobbs said in a statement. “I urge the president to reconsider a policy that attacks our country’s ideals and does nothing to secure our border.”

Under Trump’s order, babies born on U.S. soil would need at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident – a green card holder – for automatic citizenship.

That policy would have affected tens of thousands of Arizona residents if it had been in effect when they were born. In 2022 alone, it would have excluded 153,000 newborns from citizenship nationwide, including 3,400 born in Arizona, according to the state’s lawsuit.

“Should he be successful in this, I really think it changes the fabric of our country and what it looks like moving forward,” said Juan Proaño, CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Trump has argued that birthright citizenship is unfair, encourages illegal immigration and costs U.S. taxpayers billions. The new rule would take effect in 30 days unless blocked by a court.

Arizona joined Illinois, Washington state and Oregon in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Seattle asserting that “the president acted far outside the bounds of his legal authority.”

In a separate suit in Massachusetts federal court, 18 other states plus Washington, D.C., and San Francisco asserted that “any attempt to deny citizenship to children based on their parents’ citizenship or immigration status would be ‘unquestionably unconstitutional.’”

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a third federal lawsuit in New Hampshire.

“We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged,” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

Trump began his second term on Monday with a flurry of executive orders aimed at dismantling much of his predecessor’s agenda and reshaping U.S. policy to his liking.

Many of those orders relate to immigration and border security, including the one that takes aim at a 157-year-old right enshrined in the 14th Amendment – automatic citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil.

“That’s a big one,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office at a signing ceremony. As to the prospects his order will survive in court, he said, “We think we have good grounds, but … we’ll find out.”

Arizona officials said Trump’s rule would create administrative headaches while reducing federal aid for education and health care.

“It would cause chaos in our state government,” the governor said. “Making it harder for our state to deliver the critical services that Arizonans rely on and burden Arizona taxpayers with increased costs.”

An AP-NORC poll conducted last week found relatively low support nationally for ending birthright citizenship: 28%, with 51% opposed and about one in five respondents undecided.

The birthright citizenship provision of the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, was initially intended to protect former slaves and doesn’t mention the parents’ legal status or citizenship.

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” it says.

Most legal scholars agree that this applies to almost every birth in the United States, because even if the parents are in the country unlawfully they are still subject to state and federal law. Exceptions include children of foreign diplomats.

Defenders say the jurisdiction language was meant to cover people who owe allegiance to the United States.

Under Trump’s order, birthright citizenship would no longer be universal.

Babies would be excluded if the mother is in the country illegally or with temporary status – as a tourist or on a student or work visa, for instance – unless the father is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

“The Constitution is not subject to the whims of a president. The 14th Amendment is clear, and so are the values we hold as Americans,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, posted on X.

As of 2016, Arizona had 20,500 residents who’d been born without at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen or green card holder, according to estimates from the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. California had 400,100. Texas had 204,000.

Immigration hardliners in Congress have tried repeatedly to end birthright citizenship. Trump floated the idea of doing so through executive action just before the 2018 midterms but did not follow through until this week.

“Birthright citizenship has … been a debate for a long time,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at MPI, in a media briefing Tuesday, adding that Trump “has made the argument sharper.”