United States President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Monday to end birthright ciizenship granted to US-born children. At least 22 Democratic ruled states on Tuesday have taken legal action against the 700-word executive order aimed to end a century-old immigration practice.
US birthright citizenship is a legal principle which automatically guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States, whether their parents are US citizens or not. As per the birthright citizenship, a child of people in the United States on a tourist visa (or present illegally) will be a US citizen, if he or she is born in the country.
The principle was enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, reported Associated Press citing the supporters of the legal principle. However, the Republican president is likely to challenge the interpretation of the amendment to tighten norms for granting US citizenship.
Trump's executive order on US birthright citizenship may see huge opposition from the Democrats. It may also be challenged on court before implementation.
The executive order will be implemented thirty days after it was signed by Trump. As per the order, babies born in the US after the order will not be identified as US citizen if the father isn't a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. The child will be bereaved of the citizenship, if their mother is in country illegally or has a temperary legal status, like student, work or tourist visa.
-Trump's roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfilment of something he's talked about during the presidential campaign.
-Hours after Trump signed the executive order, Attorney generals from 22 states, including San Francisco and Washington DC, on Tuesday sued to block his move, reported AP.
-Most of them argue that Trump's order is a complete violation of Constitution and federal immigration policies.
-Meanwhile, immigrant advocay groups have separately filed a lawsuit on Monday night to challenge Donald Trump's executive order. In another case, civil rights attorneys sued the order on behalf of an unnamed pregnant woman, who is set to give birth in March, reported Bloomberg.
-With the multiple US states suing to bloc Trump's order, it is far from certain on what will be the fate of the executive order, which is likely to impact millions of people
-In a bid to fast track the hearing of cases, Democratic officials have filed a request asking Massachusetts court to take up the cases before the implementation of the order next month.
-Reacting to the flurry of criticisms and lawsuits, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields on Tuesday released a statement and called the lawsuits an “extension of the Left's resistance”. Fields also said that Trump administration is ready to face legal cases in court.
-“White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement in response to the legal challenges that “Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump to advance his wildly popular agenda,” Bloomberg quoted Fields in a statement.
-The Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights advocates say the question of birthright citizenship is settled law and that while presidents have broad authority, they are not kings.
-"The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.
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