More Than a Dozen States Sue to Stop Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

Today's immediate lawsuit sends a clear message to the Trump administration that we will stand up for our residents and their basic constitutional rights,

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement

There is no exception to the Citizenship Clause’s plain and unconditional grant of U.S. citizenship to all born on American soil and subject to the United States’ sovereign authority,

the Democratic states’ complaint reads

Liz Murrilllouisiana Attorney General

We shouldn't lose representation in Congress due to the presence of illegal aliens harbored by other states,

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement

President Trump does not have the authority to take away constitutional rights,

she said in a statement

This executive order is a brutal and unconstitutional attempt to redefine what it means to be an American,

according to Lawyers for Civil Rights executive director Iván Espinoza-Madrigal

Our members are mothers, fathers, workers, and neighbors who came to this country searching for a safer and better life,

La Colaborativa executive director Gladys Vega said in a statement

American citizens would be denied passports, leaving them unable to travel outside the country for fear of never being allowed re-entry; denied Social Security numbers and cards, hampering their ability to work without government permission; and prevented from exercising countless federal rights, protections, benefits, and entitlements that derive from U.S. citizenship,

they argued

The Constitution is clear: birthplace, not parentage, determines citizenship in this country,

he added