A federal judge in Seattle will hear initial arguments in a multi-state lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents without legal immigration status.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour is overseeing the case, which is led by Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington. This lawsuit is one of five filed by 22 states and various immigrant rights groups nationwide opposing the controversial order.
The lawsuits feature personal testimonies from attorneys general who are U.S. citizens by birthright, alongside accounts from pregnant women fearing their children may not be granted U.S. citizenship under the new directive.
Trump’s executive order, signed on Inauguration Day, is slated to take effect on February 19. It could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of children born annually in the U.S. According to one lawsuit, 2022 saw approximately 255,000 births to mothers living in the U.S. without legal status and 153,000 births to parents where neither held legal status.
The U.S. is one of around 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, that adhere to the principle of “jus soli” or “right of the soil.” The lawsuits argue that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, unequivocally guarantees citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the United States.
Judge Coughenour’s ruling could set a significant precedent in the legal battle over the scope of constitutional rights and immigration policy.