Boston judge set to review new attempt to challenge Trump’s birthright citizenship directive.

A federal judge in Boston has indicated that he will consider a request from 18 state attorneys general who are seeking to prevent President Donald Trump’s executive order that aims to eliminate birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are undocumented immigrants. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin, appointed by former President Barack Obama, is the third federal judge this week to preside over arguments in legal challenges against the order. The timeline for a ruling from Sorokin remains uncertain, with no decision expected to be made on that day.

The coalition of state attorneys general, which includes the cities of San Francisco and Washington, is urging the issuance of a preliminary injunction against the executive order. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell, speaking alongside her counterparts from Connecticut and New Jersey, highlighted the significance of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects citizenship rights. “Millions of Americans, and countless others with immigrant ancestors who have contributed to our nation, rely on this constitutional protection,” she asserted, emphasizing that the president cannot alter the Constitution with executive orders.

Earlier this week, two other federal judges had similarly blocked Trump’s order. One judge in Maryland implemented a nationwide stay in response to a lawsuit from immigrant rights organizations and expecting mothers, while another judge in Seattle criticized the administration’s approach to constitutional rights, suggesting that Trump was attempting to modify the Constitution improperly. Another lawsuit spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union is slated to be heard by a federal judge in New Hampshire soon.

In the case before Judge Sorokin in Boston, the plaintiffs contend that birthright citizenship is a constitutional guarantee and argue that Trump lacks the authority to revoke it. They labeled the executive order as an overtly unlawful effort to deny citizenship to potentially hundreds of thousands of children based on their parents’ immigration status. The plaintiffs also pointed out that the order’s implications could significantly affect state funding necessary for critical services like foster care, health care for low-income children, and early educational interventions for young children with disabilities.

Shankar Duraiswamy, the deputy solicitor general for New Jersey, made it clear during the proceedings that “this case focuses on the rights of children born in the United States.” He highlighted that the executive branch has no jurisdiction to diminish their constitutional rights to birthright citizenship. In contrast, Eric Hamilton from the Department of Justice argued that the states challenging the order were incorrectly interpreting the 14th Amendment.

According to the Trump administration, children of noncitizens do not fall under the jurisdiction of the United States and, as a result, should not be eligible for citizenship. Judge Sorokin dedicated a considerable portion of the hearing to examining the possible effects of the order, including its retroactive application to individuals who were previously granted birthright citizenship and the challenges in administering the order’s requirements.

The central issue in these legal battles is grounded in the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War and the decision in the Dred Scott case that denied citizenship to an enslaved man. Despite the Trump administration’s claims, the attorneys for the states firmly believe that birthright citizenship is indeed applicable to children born on U.S. soil, a view upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark. This landmark case confirmed that the only exceptions to automatic citizenship for those born in the U.S. are children of foreign diplomats, occupying enemies, individuals born on foreign vessels, and members of sovereign Native American tribes.

The United States is one of approximately 30 nations that embrace birthright citizenship, often referred to as jus soli or the “right of the soil,” a practice predominantly found in the Americas, with Canada and Mexico also recognizing it.