SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — “The story of birthright citizenship is as San Francisco as they come,” Metropolis Lawyer David Chiu declared. On Tuesday, San Francisco and California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit to halt President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship.
Trump took benefit of his first day again as President of the USA to situation an government order that seeks to finish the longstanding American immigration coverage. The coverage makes any little one born within the U.S. an automated citizen, even when their mother and father didn’t enter the nation legally.
Birthright citizenship stems from the 14th Modification, which was ratified in 1868 and states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
“The president overstepped his authority by a mile,” Bonta stated. If Trump succeeds in denying birthright citizenship for newborns, the transfer would impression greater than 24,000 kids who’re born in California yearly, Bonta stated.
Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for companies at St. John’s Church as a part of Inauguration ceremonies on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Picture by Scott Olson/Getty Pictures)
“This is an attack on children. It’s an attack on U.S. citizens. It’s an attack on our foundational document,” Bonta stated.
Birthright citizenship was upheld in a landmark 1898 U.S. Supreme Courtroom case that centered on a San Francisco man, Wong Kim Ark.
Ark was born in San Francisco to immigrant mother and father. In 1895, he was touring from China again dwelling when he was denied re-entry on the Port of San Francisco. Officers claimed he was not a citizen and he was topic to the Chinese language Exclusion Act.
Ark challenged his case all the way in which as much as the U.S. Supreme Courtroom. In a 6-2 resolution, judges dominated in favor of Ark, discovering that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Modification mechanically made him a U.S. citizen, and thus, he couldn’t be denied entry into his dwelling nation.
President Donald Trump indicators government orders within the Oval Workplace on January 20, 2025. (Picture by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures)
If Trump’s order succeeds in placing down a century-old authorized precedent, it’ll trigger “chaos and confusion” for households of newborns, in response to San Francisco Metropolis Lawyer Chiu.
“Birthright citizenship is as clear cut as legal precedents come,” Chiu stated. “The Constitution’s guarantee of this right was affirmed in a 127-year-old Supreme Court case. As a San Franciscan born to immigrant parents, I am determined to ensure the next generation of Americans are not deprived of this constitutional right. It will sow confusion about the legal status of numerous newly-born American citizens.”
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The lawsuit names President Trump, the Division of Homeland Safety, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the U.S. Social Safety Administration as defendants.
Trump’s order excludes the next individuals from automated citizenship: these whose moms weren’t legally in the USA and whose fathers weren’t U.S. residents or lawful everlasting residents; individuals whose moms had been within the nation legally however on a brief foundation and whose fathers weren’t residents or authorized everlasting residents.
Vice President JD Vance, Barron Trump, President Donald Trump and Melania Trump are seen in the course of the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 2025. (Picture by Kenny Holston/The New York Instances / AFP)
It goes on to bar federal businesses from recognizing the citizenship of individuals in these classes. Trump’s order is ready to take impact on Feb. 19.
New Jersey Democratic Lawyer Common Matt Platkin joined the lawsuit. On Tuesday he stated presidents may need broad authority however they don’t seem to be kings. “The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence,” Platkin stated.
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Connecticut Lawyer Common William Tong, a U.S. citizen by birthright, additionally joined the lawsuit and stated it was private for him. “The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says — if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop,” Tong stated.
By Tuesday afternoon, attorneys basic from 22 states have joined the lawsuit.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
