SF and CA join lawsuit challenging Trump's executive order cutting birthright citizenship
SAN FRANCISCO -- The legal fight over some of President Trump's executive orders is already beginning as California joined 17 other states on Tuesday, suing the White House over Trump's new executive order end birthright citizenship.
The lawsuit, filed by 18 Democratic attorneys general, alleges the president is trying to eliminate a "well-established and longstanding Constitutional principle," by executive fiat. San Francisco and Washington, D.C. are also two cities that have also joined the lawsuit.
President Trump's bid to cut off birthright citizenship is a "flagrantly unlawful attempt to strip hundreds of thousands of American-born children of their citizenship based on their parentage," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit accused Trump of seeking to eliminate a "well-established and longstanding Constitutional principle" by executive fiat.
"The President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth," the lawsuit said.
MORE: South Bay leaders react to Trump's immigration policies: 'The city has your back'
Four additional states filed a similar suit later in the day, asking a federal court to keep the executive order from being implemented or enforced, bringing the total number of states to 22.
Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the US is automatically a citizen, regardless of their parents' immigration status. It's ensured the 14th amendment, which was ratified more than 150 years ago.
Trump's order directed federal agencies -- starting next month -- to stop issuing citizenship documents to U.S.-born children of undocumented mothers or mothers in the country on temporary visas, if the father is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference in San Francisco Tuesday to push back against the executive order, saying, "I have one message for President Trump: I'll see you in court."
"The president chose to start his second term by knocking down one of our country's foundational, long-standing rights and disregarding our nation's governing document, a terrifying tone to set for the rest of his term," Bonta said in the press conference.
According to the lawsuit, about 150,000 children born each year to two parents who were noncitizens and lacked legal status could lose access to basic health care, foster care, and early interventions for infants, toddlers, and students with disabilities.
MORE: Trump signs executive order ending birthright citizenship, other immigration actions
"They will all be deportable, and many will be stateless," the lawsuit said.
The states warned the executive order would also cause them to lose federal funding for programs that render services to children regardless of their immigration status.
While Trump's order purports to unilaterally end birthright citizenship, only the U.S. Supreme Court can determine how the 14th Amendment applies.
The states are seeking to invalidate the executive order and stop any actions taken to implement it. Their lawsuit requests a preliminary injunction to immediately prevent the order from taking effect.
On Tuesday, nonprofit groups in Massachusetts and New Hampshire also filed federal lawsuits challenging Trump's birthright citizenship executive order.
The U.S. Supreme Court also upheld the right in an 1898 case involving a San Francisco man who was the child of immigrant parents.
ABC7 News contributed to this story.
