California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit challenging an executive order issued by President Trump that seeks to end birthright citizenship in the United States. Joined by 17 other state attorneys general and the City of San Francisco, the lawsuit argues that the executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order to repeal birthright citizenship prospectively:
“This is unconstitutional.”
Under the Fourteenth Amendment, all children born on U.S. soil are granted citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status. This principle was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed that children born in the United States, including those born to immigrant parents, are citizens.
The executive order, issued hours after President Trump took office, directs federal agencies to deny citizenship rights to children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawful residents. It calls for the Social Security Administration and the Department of State to stop issuing Social Security numbers and passports to affected children, effectively treating them as non-citizens.
In the lawsuit, the coalition of attorneys general argues that the order undermines constitutional guarantees, disrupts established legal precedents, and causes harm to states and residents. Attorney General Bonta described the order as “blatantly unconstitutional,” stating, “California will not stand by while the President attempts to erase 125 years of Supreme Court precedent and jeopardize the rights of American-born children.”
The lawsuit claims that, if implemented, the executive order would strip tens of thousands of children born each year in the U.S. of their citizenship rights. This would result in the loss of federal benefits, including access to Social Security numbers, lawful employment, voting rights, and eligibility for public programs. The attorneys general also warn that the order could disrupt vital state-administered programs, such as Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which rely on the citizenship status of beneficiaries.
California alone estimates that 24,500 children born annually in the state could be impacted by the order. The lawsuit seeks a nationwide preliminary injunction to block the executive order from taking effect on February 19, arguing that it would cause irreparable harm to states, residents, and the constitutional rights of affected individuals.
The legal challenge is led by California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, with support from attorneys general in Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The City of San Francisco is also participating in the case.