ACLU files lawsuit against Trump administration over birthright citizenship executive order

Marcela Medina and her husband Enrique Corea of Venezuela react to seeing that their appointment was canceled on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app, as they wait near the border crossing in Tijuana, Mexico on Monday, Jan. 20. 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

By Araceli Cruz

January 21, 2025

President Donald Trump wasted no time implementing some of his campaign promises on Monday, including executive orders that target immigrants and also violate the Constitution.

Trump on Monday issued an executive order targeting birthright citizenship, a constitutional guarantee that anyone born on US soil is a US citizen.

Under the label, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” Trump’s executive order would prohibit US citizenship to two classes of Americans. The first is children born to undocumented mothers whose fathers were not themselves citizens or lawful permanent residents at the time of birth. The second is children whose fathers have similar immigration status, and whose mothers were lawfully but temporarily present in the United States at birth.

Padilla: Will you defend birthright citizenship as the law of the land?

Bondi: I will study birthright citizenship

Padilla: You’re asking to be considered for Attorney General and you still need to study the 14th Amendment of the Constitution? pic.twitter.com/4T1L3dL0NH

— FactPost (@factpostnews) January 15, 2025

Trump’s order appears plainly unconstitutional. The 14th Amendment clearly states that anyone born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen, including children born to someone in the country illegally or in the US on a tourist or student visa.

The amendment was ratified in 1868 after the Civil War to assure citizenship for all, including Black people. However, Trump’s executive order suggests that the amendment has been wrongly interpreted. It would go into effect in 30 days, meaning it would not be retroactive.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has already filed a lawsuit against this executive order.

“We’re suing the Trump administration to block the president’s attempt to end birthright citizenship,” the ACLU stated. “An executive order does not have the power to override the Constitution.”

In a statement, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen said, “The Constitution is clear: if you are born in the United States, you are an American citizen. Donald Trump’s attempt to take Americans’ birthright citizenship away is unconstitutional and illegal.”

Today, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and 18 other attorney generals filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent it from attempting to eliminate the birthright.

“Nevada is aggrieved and has standing to bring this action because defendants’ effort to strip citizenship from United States citizens born and residing in Nevada, receiving benefits in Nevada, and receiving government services in Nevada, harms Nevada’s sovereign, proprietary, and quasi-sovereign interests and will continue to cause injury unless and until enforcement of the order is permanently enjoined,” the lawsuit said.

Here are other ways Trump is rolling out anti-immigrant policies

The Trump administration is also aiming to end asylum in the US. The Refugee Act of 1980, rooted in international agreements created after World War II, was passed to protect refugees and asylum seekers. The act was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.

The Biden Administration aimed to simplify and organize the arduous process of obtaining asylum by instituting the CBP One phone app to help ensure asylum seekers were updated with important information, including border wait times, how to apply for a Provisional I-94 Entry, court dates, and other processes.

The online lottery system gave appointments to 1,450 people daily at eight border crossings to enter on “parole.”

The CBP One app is no longer available after Trump ordered it offline on Monday.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Border Kindness (@borderkindness)

The official CBP One app states, “Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been canceled.”

Trump also issued several other anti-immigration orders on Monday, including:

- Ending Biden’s catch-and-release policies, reinstating Remain in Mexico ((which requires individuals seeking asylum to stay in Mexico while they await their US court dates), ordering building of the wall, ending asylum for undocumented border crossers, suspending refugee resettlements, and enhancing vetting and screening of undocumented immigrants.
- Declaring a national emergency at the US/Mexico border.
- Trump is also suspending refugee resettlements
- Ordering the Department of Defense to use the US military at the border, including the National Guard, to engage in border security and assist existing law enforcement personnel.
- Beginning the process of designating cartels as terrorist organizations.
- Ordering the Department of Justice to seek the death penalty as the appropriate punishment for undocumented immigrants who kill US citizens.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Araceli Cruz

Araceli is a content producer and social media manager at Courier Newsroom. Her work has been published in The Guardian, Teen Vogue, Refinery29, Mic, The Cut, Zora, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, and others.

View all posts