President Donald Trump’s executive order refusing to recognize U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants as citizens would “wreak havoc and chaos” nationwide, New Jersey and other Democratic-led states say in a new lawsuit.
At a press conference in Newark to discuss the new complaint — one of a flurry of legal actions taken to challenge Trump’s order — New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said presidents “have broad powers, but they are not kings.”
“They do not have the power to unilaterally rewrite the Constitution. They do not have the power to unilaterally disregard our laws. That’s true for Donald Trump. That’s true for every president that came before him and every president who will come after him,” Platkin said.
The complaint, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, lays out how birthright citizenship has been enshrined in the Constitution for over 150 years and upheld multiple times by courts at all levels, including by the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiffs — including Colorado, California, and others — want a judge to prevent Trump’s order from going into effect.
Tens of thousands of children would lack legal status in America if the order stands, according to the plaintiffs — and that number is about 6,200 in New Jersey alone, the Attorney General’s Office said.
The American Civil Liberties Union and immigrant rights groups also sued the Trump administration over the order, as did a separate group of attorneys general from Democratic-led states.
Platkin said the state’s ability to provide basic needs like health care and education would be “thrown into disarray” if the order takes effect.
Nedia Morsy, deputy director of immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, celebrated Tuesday’s complaint and said it amounts to “standing up against fascism that feeds on despair and fear.”
“This is why we mobilize all the time, so that we’re ready for moments like this,” Morsy said. “This is not the first time that our communities have been under attack.”
At issue is the 14th Amendment, which says, “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.”
Trump’s order, which he signed in the first few hours of his second term as president, alongside other orders rolling back protections for immigrants and asylum seekers, says that children of non-citizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore cannot be considered citizens.
Trump told reporters Monday he thinks the administration has “good grounds” to defend the order in court.
Morsy and other immigrant advocates are hoping that Trump’s actions will push the New Jersey Legislature to pass more legislation codifying protections for immigrants. She pointed to the Immigrant Trust Act, which would bar government agencies and hospitals from asking people about their immigration status, prohibit using local resources to direct people into the custody of federal immigration agents, and require law enforcement to submit reports to the Attorney General’s Office about interactions with immigrant authorities.
She said Trump’s election has created confusion among members of immigrant communities in New Jersey. Organizations are holding “know your rights” trainings to teach immigrants what to do if they’re approached by immigration officials.
“This impacts entire communities, our entire state, our entire values system,” she said. “We have a huge responsibility.”
Platkin said he’s prepared to bring more challenges against the Trump administration if he thinks it is attacking the rule of law — just as he would against any president’s administration, he said.
“I don’t wake up every day dying to sue the administration. I don’t. Our goal is to protect the rule of law and protect the residents of this state, and you can see here, this is an egregious example of an unlawful act,” he said.
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