A coalition of civil rights and immigration rights organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s administration over an executive order that seeks to terminate birthright citizenship.
The complaint was filed on Monday, just after Trump signed the order, on behalf of the families affected by it.
The executive order intends to prohibit automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are illegally here or on a temporary basis.
According to the executive order, the federal government will no longer issue documentation recognising United States citizenship to children born to parents who are illegally or temporarily present in the country.
The order states that it will apply to children born in the United States after 30 days from the date of the decree.
The 17-page lawsuit claims that the executive order breaches federal law and the US Constitution.
The groups’ attorneys stated: “For plaintiffs—organisations with members impacted by the order, and for families across the country—this order seeks to strip from their children the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship, threatening them with a lifetime of exclusion from society and fear of deportation from the only country they have ever known.
“But that is illegal. The Constitution and Congress, not President Trump, dictate who is entitled to full membership in American society.”
The groups are requesting that a federal court in New Hampshire declare Trump’s order illegal and block it both temporarily and permanently.
The lawsuit also stated that some of the affected groups’ members are expecting children who may be impacted by the new rule.
The solicitors for the NGOs claim that the order may render these youngsters stateless, either legally or practically.
They emphasised that the action constitutes a major and detrimental overreach, harming families and children who have only known the United States as home.
