The Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments on April 1 as part of legal challenges to former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship. Attorney General Keith Ellison joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general in issuing a statement opposing the order and expressing optimism that the court will rule it unconstitutional.
The case is significant because it addresses whether the president can unilaterally alter birthright citizenship, which has been protected under the Fourteenth Amendment for over 150 years. The attorneys general argue that ending this right would violate both constitutional principles and federal law.
“The President’s executive order redefining birthright citizenship violates our Constitution, federal statutes, and the rule that has governed our Nation for more than 150 years. We were proud to lead the fight against this unlawful order, and grateful for the injunctions we obtained that prevented this action from ever taking effect. We are optimistic the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with every judge to consider this executive order on the merits and hold that it violates this fundamental constitutional right,” said Ellison and his colleagues in their joint statement.
Ellison and other attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order on January 21, 2025, shortly after his inauguration. Birthright citizenship is established by Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act—a position affirmed by an 1898 Supreme Court decision in Wong Kim Ark vs. United States. The lawsuit led by Ellison was consolidated with similar cases now before the Supreme Court; so far, all lower courts have found Trump’s executive action unconstitutional.
Attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia Washington Wisconsin and Washington D.C., also joined in issuing today’s statement.
