TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced Tuesday that the state is spearheading a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, claiming it violates the Fourteenth Amendment and federal law.
“President Trump’s attempt to unilaterally end birthright citizenship is a flagrant violation of our Constitution,” Platkin said in a statement, adding that the lawsuit represents a commitment to defending the rights of all children born in the United States.
The executive order, issued Monday, seeks to prevent children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents from receiving automatic citizenship. New Jersey is joined by 18 other states, the District of Columbia, and one city in filing the lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts, seeking immediate relief to block the order’s implementation.
Governor Phil Murphy criticized the order, calling it a direct attack on constitutional principles. “The Constitution could not be more clear: citizenship of children born in the United States does not depend on the citizenship of their parents,” Murphy said.