Attorneys general in 22 states, as well as the city of San Francisco and the District of Columbia, on Tuesday filed lawsuits to try to block President Donald Trump's executive order to limit birthright US citizenship, report
ABC and
AP.
On Inauguration Day on Monday, Trump signed an executive order that, starting next month, children born in the US to mothers with illegal or nonimmigrant visas will no longer be able to automatically become US citizens.
The right to US citizenship for anyone born on US soil is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.
“The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period,” New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.
Nonprofit groups in Massachusetts and New Hampshire also filed federal lawsuits challenging the executive order on Monday, ABC reports.
According to the lawsuit filed, about 150,000 children born each year to two parents who are noncitizens and lack legal status could lose access to basic health care, foster care, and early interventions for infants, toddlers, and students with disabilities.
"They will all be deportable, and many will be stateless," the lawsuit added.
The White House said it’s ready to face the states in court.
“Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump,” White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said.
