22 States Sue to Block Birthright Citizenship Order

Attorneys general from 22 states sued Tuesday to block President Trump's move to end an immigration policy known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that US-born children are citizens regardless of their parents' status. Eighteen states and two cities challenged the order in a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday. Four other states filed a separate lawsuit later in the day, the New York Times reports. Here's a closer look at birthright citizenship, Trump's executive order, and reaction to it, per the AP:

• What is birthright citizenship? Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the US is a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. It's been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, supporters say. But Trump and allies dispute the reading of the amendment and say there need to be tougher standards on becoming a citizen.

• What does Trump's order say? Trump's order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not US citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis, and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents. It goes on to bar federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in those categories. It takes effect 30 days from Tuesday, on Feb. 19.
• What has the reaction to Trump's order been? Some 18 states, plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said that presidents might have broad authority but they are not kings. "The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period," he said. Four others filed a lawsuit in Western District of Washington. Nick Brown, the state's attorney general, said the order would leave 150,000 children a year "undocumented at birth," per the Times. Separate lawsuits were filed by Lawyers for Civil Rights and the ACLU.

• "If you are born on American soil, you are an American." Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a US citizen by birthright and the nation's first Chinese American elected attorney general, said the lawsuit was personal for him. "The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says—-if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop," he said. "There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own."

(More birthright citizenship stories.)