US President Donald Trump wants to end the automatic citizenship for future children born to people without legal status or those living temporarily in the country, so he has also signed an executive order in this regard, but as soon as he took this step, many states opened a front. More than 20 states have filed a lawsuit against this order of Trump.

A coalition of Democratic state attorneys general in the US on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit to block Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship. Trump on Monday used presidential powers to fulfill his long-standing promises shortly after taking office. Trump’s order included directing the US government to stop issuing passports, citizenship certificates and other documents to many children born in the US whose mothers are in the country illegally or whose neither parent is a legal permanent resident.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts on behalf of 18 states. The lawsuit claims that Trump’s initiative violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which the federal government has long interpreted to mean that people born on US soil are citizens from birth. San Francisco and Washington DC also joined the suit.

What does the 14th Amendment say?

The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution states, “All persons born or naturalized within the United States, and all persons subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement to CBS News, “The great promise of our nation is that every person born here is a citizen of the United States, capable of realizing the American dream.” He said that this fundamental right of birthright citizenship is the cornerstone of our nation’s commitment to justice.

Which states are involved in the lawsuit against Trump’s order?

This lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction to stop the enforcement of the executive order and ultimately invalidate it. The US states on whose behalf this lawsuit has been filed include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

“The President’s executive order to revoke birthright citizenship is clearly unconstitutional and, frankly, anti-American,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. “We are asking the court to immediately halt the order and ensure that the rights of the American-born children affected by it remain protected during litigation. The president has overstepped his authority with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”

President Donald Trump has directed that his order be implemented within 30 days. It was challenged shortly after it was issued, when the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups filed separate lawsuits against it.

Four more states sued

Later on Tuesday, a group of four more states – Illinois, Arizona, Washington and Oregon – filed their own lawsuit in Washington targeting the executive order. With this, the number of lawsuits challenging Trump’s order increased to at least four. A federal judge in Seattle, John Coughenour, has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the request of four states seeking to stop Trump’s order.

Can Trump’s order end birthright citizenship?

According to a report, constitutional expert and University of Virginia Law School professor Saikrishna Prakash said, “He (Trump) is doing something that will upset a lot of people but ultimately it will be decided by the court… this is not something he can decide on his own.”

He said Trump could order employees of federal agencies to interpret citizenship more narrowly, but this would face legal challenges from those whose citizenship has been denied. This could start a long court battle that could eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

According to the report, a constitutional amendment could end birthright citizenship, but this would require a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and approval from three-fourths of US states.