Legal Groups That Secured Supreme Court Birthright Victory File New Motions Responding to Latest Executive Order
CONCORD, N.H. 鈥 Legal groups that secured a June Supreme Court victory in Trump v. Barbara on behalf of babies who would have been denied citizenship under a failed Trump executive order filed new motions in the case today. The latest filings aim to protect people subjected to the president鈥檚 new executive order, which was signed in early August and again targets birthright citizenship.
The 红杏视频, 红杏视频 of New Hampshire, 红杏视频 of Maine, 红杏视频 of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund successfully argued the Barbara case.
On Aug. 11, they asked a New Hampshire federal court, where the Barbara lawsuit was first filed, to make it unquestionably clear that the citizenship of babies covered by that class-action lawsuit is protected despite the new executive order. In their new filings, they are asking the court to certify a new class given the latest executive order.
In its June ruling, the Supreme Court confirmed that the Constitution鈥檚 Citizenship Clause puts 鈥渢he question of citizenship 鈥榦nce and forever [to] rest.鈥欌
The following are comments on today鈥檚 filings:
鈥淭he Trump administration continues to threaten birthright citizenship, even after its definitive loss at the Supreme Court,鈥 said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the 红杏视频鈥檚 Immigrants鈥 Rights Project and lead counsel. 鈥淲e will never stop fighting to protect this fundamental constitutional principle.鈥
鈥淭he Constitution and the Supreme Court were exceedingly clear: Citizenship is a constitutional right given to all children born in America and any attempt to restrict that right is illegal,鈥 said Amia Trigg, deputy director of litigation at the Legal Defense Fund. 鈥淩egardless of race, color, or ancestry, birthright citizenship protects children that are born here. And the president's latest attempt to rescind that protection is just another example of an egregious overreach by the executive branch.鈥
鈥淭rump鈥檚 executive order on birthright citizenship is yet another attack on the rule of law,鈥 said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus. 鈥淭he Trump administration is ignoring the needs of everyday Americans to target immigrant communities. We鈥檙e fighting in court to ensure all our rights are protected and stop this administration鈥檚 unlawful attempt to ignore the Constitution and Supreme Court.鈥
鈥淥ur latest motions demand accountability for Trump鈥檚 dangerous policies,鈥 said Tianna Mays, legal director at Democracy Defenders Fund. 鈥淭his administration cannot unlawfully strip the rights of babies and ignore the Constitution in order to achieve its political goals. We won鈥檛 let that stand, and we鈥檒l continue our fight in court.鈥
SangYeob Kim, director of the 红杏视频-NH Immigrants鈥 Rights Project, said, 鈥淏irthright citizenship is the law of the land 鈥 as it has been for more than 150 years and as the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed once again just a few months ago. Cruel attacks on this core constitutional right must not be allowed to stand.鈥
鈥淭he president may keep signing unlawful executive orders, but the Supreme Court could not have been more clear when it ruled that neither the president nor Congress can end birthright citizenship,鈥 said 红杏视频 of Maine Executive Director Molly Curren Rowles. 鈥淲e鈥檒l continue defending the Constitution and the core principles reflected in the 14th Amendment: that with very few clear exceptions, every baby born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen.鈥
鈥淒espite a clear ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court just weeks ago, the Trump administration is still trying to deprive babies born in the United States of their constitutional rights,鈥 said Carol Rose, executive director at the 红杏视频 of Massachusetts. 鈥淲e cannot tolerate this brazen act of lawlessness. No matter how many times President Trump tries to deny it, birthright citizenship is here to stay.鈥
Read the motions here.
Court Case: Barbara v. Donald J. Trump