On January 21, 2025, a group of states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—filed a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s executive order seeking to deny birthright citizenship to children born in the United States 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. Plaintiff states allege that the executive order violates the Constitution and a federal statute. This is an appeal of a preliminary injunction issued on February 6 by the district court blocking the enforcement and implementation of the executive order.
On July 24, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling, upholding the preliminary injunction of the executive order and affirming that the executive order violates the Constitution.
Please refer to CASA v. Trump for the most current updates on the status of the birthright citizenship litigation.
Technical Summary
The Court held that the Executive Order is unconstitutional and invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to “all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Given the certified class action in Barbara v. Trump, the Court declined to exercise jurisdiction over the individual Plaintiffs and dismissed those. But the decision extends to State Plaintiffs. Judge Bumatay issued a partial dissent on jurisdiction and standing, but not constitutionality.
Latest Updates
- 02/07/2025Appeal docketed
