New York Attorney General Letitia James, alongside a coalition of 13 attorneys general, issued a statement in response to a federal judge's preliminary injunction against President Trump's executive order challenging birthright citizenship.
Attorney General James stated, "The President and his allies made clear long before he was sworn in that they would pursue this illegal action, and our coalition was prepared to challenge it as soon as President Trump fulfilled this unconstitutional campaign promise on Inauguration Day."
She continued, "We immediately stood up for our Constitution, for the rule of law, and for families across the country who would have been deprived of their constitutional rights – and today we delivered for them. This is not yet over, and we will continue to fight every single step of the way until President Trump is permanently prevented from trampling on the Fourteenth Amendment."
President Trump issued an executive order on January 20 to end birthright citizenship, which Attorney General James argues violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The coalition filed a lawsuit to invalidate this executive order. Judge Leo Sorokin of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted their request for a preliminary injunction.
Birthright citizenship has historical roots dating back centuries in America. Although the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott denied birthright citizenship to descendants of slaves, the post-Civil War adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment secured citizenship rights for all children born in the United States. The coalition's filings emphasize that Supreme Court rulings confirm birthright citizenship does not depend on parents' immigration status.
Joining Attorney General James are attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Vermont, and representatives from San Francisco.