Donald Trump's return to the White House brings immediate legal confrontation over his controversial executive orders targeting immigration and federal employment policies.
According to Daily Mail, civil rights groups have filed lawsuits challenging Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents without legal status in the United States.
The legal challenges center on the 14th Amendment's guarantee that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens, supported by an 1898 Supreme Court ruling. Trump acknowledges potential legal hurdles but maintains his position that the current interpretation of birthright citizenship serves as a magnet for illegal immigration and birth tourism.
The 14th Amendment explicitly states that individuals born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of both the country and their state of residence. This post-Civil War amendment has been consistently interpreted through Supreme Court precedent, most notably in the 1898 case that confirmed citizenship rights for children born to foreign parents on American soil.
Trump's executive order attempts to modify this long-standing interpretation through presidential action rather than congressional legislation or constitutional amendment. When questioned about the order's ability to withstand legal scrutiny, Trump expressed uncertainty while defending the initiative.
Trump stated during the signing ceremony:
We're the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know, and it's just absolutely ridiculous, but, you know – we'll see. We think it – we have very good grounds. Certain people have wanted to do this for decades.
The lawsuit filed Monday by members of the Indonesian community in New Hampshire and advocacy groups argues that Trump's order exceeds presidential authority. The legal action names Trump and multiple federal agencies as defendants, asserting constitutional violations.
Legal experts emphasize that the framers of the 14th Amendment deliberately included birthright citizenship protection with full awareness it would apply to immigrant children. The principle has remained an undisputed constitutional foundation for over a century.
The National Treasury Employees Union has simultaneously filed a separate lawsuit challenging another of Trump's executive orders. This order removes "Schedule F" protections for civil service employees, potentially making it easier for Trump to dismiss career federal workers he has previously criticized as part of the "deep state."
Former presidents and legal scholars have consistently maintained that modifying birthright citizenship would require a constitutional amendment rather than executive action. Despite Trump's claims, more than 30 countries, including Canada and Mexico, maintain similar birthright citizenship policies.
Trump's broader immigration agenda includes plans for mass deportations, with a stated preference for keeping families together by deporting them as units. This approach connects directly to the birthright citizenship order by potentially affecting the status of American-born children.
The civil rights groups' lawsuit argues the order threatens fundamental constitutional protections that have shaped American immigration and citizenship policy for generations. Their filing emphasizes the deliberate nature of the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause and its essential role in preventing discriminatory citizenship denial.
Donald Trump's executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for children of non-legal residents has sparked immediate legal challenges from civil rights organizations and advocacy groups. The order, signed during his first day back in office, faces constitutional scrutiny based on the 14th Amendment and established Supreme Court precedent from 1898. As multiple lawsuits move through the courts, the fundamental question of presidential authority to modify constitutional citizenship rights through executive action will be tested.
