In a legal pushback against the White House, Attorney General Phil Weiser, supported by a robust coalition of peers from across the United States, has deemed a recently issued executive order to abolish birthright citizenship as a direct breach of constitutional fidelity, embarking on a lawsuit with intentions to overturn this controversial decree. "The White House executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship is flatly unconstitutional," Weiser stated, explaining the unilateral move by the president undermines the Constitution and the rule of law, as reported by the Colorado Attorney General's Office.
This contentious order, which materialized amidst promises rang during campaign trails, has ignited concerns regarding its alignment with the principles espoused by the Fourteenth Amendment and, by extension, Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act the president's executive order fulfills his repeated promise to curb the provision of citizenship to those born on American soil, regardless of their parent's immigration status, and it carries weighty implications for both states and individuals, including but not limited to potential deportation and the loss of basic rights and federal programs eligibility. Weiser and other attorneys general, representing a swathe of states, are filing as partisans in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, to invalidate the order and disrupt any subsequent enforcement actions.
The scrapping of birthright citizenship is argued to not only upend centuries-spanning legal precedents including those following the Civil War but also to dismantle an intrinsic part of the American ethos as enshrined by e pluribus unum. The Supreme Court has historically upheld the right of birthright citizenship, the matter reinforced by constitutional amendment post-Dred Scott, signifying an unequivocal inclusion irrespective of parental citizenship. Weiser and his colleagues argue that the Order's repercussions stretch beyond individual disenfranchisement; it burdens states with immediate and costly alterations to benefit programs and a reduction in federal funding vital for the administration of Medicaid, foster care, and more, as outlined in the states' filing.
Joining Colorado's Weiser in the lawsuit are attorneys general from 20 jurisdictions, including California, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as the City and County of San Francisco, signaling widespread disapproval of the White House's maneuver and a readiness to challenge it within the legal arena. Each jurisdiction opposes the potential damage to hundreds of thousands of residents was this executive order persists unchallenged, with a shared commitment to upholding established citizenship rights and preventing a precedent where executive power can nullify constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen.
