PHOENIX – The Arizona Attorney General's Office, alongside other states helped defend birthright citizenship in front of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today in the ongoing multi-state lawsuit led by Washington state against the Trump administration’s illegal executive order.
It was the first lawsuit against the Executive Order to be heard in an appeals court, after a district judge in February deemed it “blatantly unconstitutional” and granted a nationwide preliminary injunction against its implementation while the case proceeds. The administration appealed to the Ninth Circuit in an effort to overturn the injunction.
"The Trump administration's attempt to erase birthright citizenship is not only unconstitutional, it's un-American," said Attorney General Kris Mayes. "Arizona is proud to stand alongside our partners in defending the 14th Amendment and protecting the rights of all Americans."
The multi-state complaint joined by Arizona, Illinois, Washington and Oregon asserts the order violates the 14th Amendment and the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. As the complaint notes, the president has no authority to override the Constitution and no law empowers him to determine who should be granted citizenship at birth.
If allowed to stand, the order would cause thousands of newborns and children in Arizona each year to lose out on their constitutionally protected right to citizenship. This would include not only babies born to undocumented parents, but also babies born to individuals who are here on valid visas for work or study.
Unlawfully stripping U.S. citizens of their right to citizenship would impact their ability to vote, travel abroad, secure housing, access health care, seek employment, run for public office, serve on juries and, more generally, participate fully in American society.
The federal order would also cause irreparable harm to Arizona and the states where those citizens live. Arizona administers numerous programs to support the health and welfare of its residents. Many of those programs are supported by federal funding, which will be lost if the executive order takes effect.
This lawsuit is one of three against the birthright citizenship order that have resulted in judges issuing nationwide preliminary injunctions. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments at the administration’s request over whether the nationwide preliminary injunctions in those cases should apply only to the plaintiff states and individuals who filed private lawsuits. The justices have not yet issued a decision.
But anything less than a nationwide halt on the illegal order would cause chaos in the plaintiff states and the rest of the country. In that nightmare scenario, newborns would be born undocumented, subject to removal or detention, and many left stateless – among many other negative and long-term consequences.
The public can read more about the lawsuit and the history of the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause here.
