On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order that strips certain children born in the United States of birthright citizenship, which was initially set to go into effect on February 19, 2025. The order declares that a child who is born in the United States is not a citizen if, at the time of the child’s birth, (1) their mother was either “unlawfully present in the United States” or the “mother’s presence in the United States . . . was lawful but temporary” and (2) their father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
That same day, immigrant rights’ organizations (the ACLU, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Asian Law Caucus, State Democracy Defenders Fund, and Legal Defense Fund) brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of plaintiff membership organizations—New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support (NHIC), League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and Make the Road New York (MRNY)—with members whose babies will be born in the United States and will be denied citizenship under the order.
Plaintiffs allege that the order directly contravenes the Constitution’s mandate on birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment, federal statute, and long standing Supreme Court precedent. Practically, Plaintiffs allege that the order would have far-reaching and negative impacts on both the children it would apply to, their parents, and their families, which includes several of plaintiffs’ members. For example, children who would be considered undocumented because of this order would be ineligible for certain benefits like SNAP and Medicaid, thereby limiting these children’s access to basic nutrition and healthcare.
On January 21, Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction. On February 11, the court granted Plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction, blocking enforcement and implementation of the executive order. On March 14, following Defendants’ motion requesting clarification on the scope of the preliminary injunction, the court clarified that the scope of the injunction is not nationwide and only applies to Plaintiff organizations’ and their members. The federal government appealed on April 10, 2025.
Please refer to CASA v. Trump for the most current updates on the status of the birthright citizenship litigation.
Technical Summary
Plaintiff membership organizations allege that President Trump’s Executive Order violates (1) the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution (The Citizenship Clause); (2) federal statute (8 U.S.C. § 1401); (3) the APA under § 706(2)(B) as being contrary to constitutional right; and (4) the APA under § 706(2)(C) as being in excess of the applicable federal statute.
Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief and injunctive relief in enjoining defendants from enforcing the Executive Order.
Latest Updates
- 01/20/2025
