Donald Trump’s latest executive orders have sparked another legal fight over citizenship. Rights groups are fighting back after the president’s controversial new move on birthright citizenship drew immediate legal action.
Donald Trump’s latest executive orders have sparked another legal fight over citizenship
Rights organizations have filed a legal challenge against President Donald Trump’s latest executive orders restricting birthright citizenship, Al Jazeera reported. The groups launched their lawsuit on Tuesday at a federal court in New Hampshire. Trump recently signed two executive orders on the subject after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier attempt.
One order sought to expand narrow categories within the 14th Amendment that already bar some individuals from automatic citizenship. The other directed the Department of State and Homeland Security to combat “birth tourism.” The American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund filed the challenge together.
The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in June against Trump’s previous broader attempt to end birthright citizenship. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote there was “scant evidence for this dramatically revisionist view.” He added that the framers “extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land’.”
Amia Trigg, deputy director of litigation at the Legal Defense Fund, criticized the administration’s renewed push. “The Supreme Court could not have been more clear: President Trump’s attempt to redefine who is an American citizen through executive action was unconstitutional,” she said. Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, had previously vowed to challenge the ruling. The administration, however, let the July deadline to seek reconsideration pass.
Trump’s new order instructed agencies to deny citizenship documents to children of diplomatic staff and alleged terrorist organization members. It also targeted people engaged in “commercial transactions” to secure US births and certain individuals born in territories. Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh had rejected the notion that restricting birthright citizenship was unconstitutional.
Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, said the administration “is just throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.” Several Republicans have sought to highlight the issue ahead of November’s midterm elections.
