Twenty-two Democratic-led states along with the District of Columbia and the city of San Francisco filed a pair of lawsuits, opening new tabs in federal courts in Boston and Seattle asserting Trump had violated the U.S. Constitution.
After his inauguration on Monday, Trump, a Republican, ordered U.S. agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of children born in the U.S. if neither their mother nor father is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
Two similar cases were filed by, opens new tab the American Civil Liberties Union, immigrant organizations and an expectant mother, opens new tab in the hours after Trump signed the executive order, kicking off the first major court fight of his administration.
The lawsuits aim for a central piece of Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown. If allowed to stand, Trump’s order would for the first time deny more than 150,000 children born annually in the United States the right to citizenship, said the office of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
“President Trump has no authority to take away constitutional rights,” she said.
Losing out on citizenship would prevent those individuals from accessing federal programs like Medicaid health insurance and, when they become older, from working lawfully or voting, the states say.
“Today’s immediate lawsuit sends a clear message to the Trump administration that we will stand up for our residents and their basic constitutional rights,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
More lawsuits by Democratic-led states and advocacy groups challenging other aspects of Trump’s agenda are expected, with cases already on file challenging the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency and an order Trump signed weakening job protections for civil servants.