Trump birthright citizenship order draws quick lawsuit

It took less than two hours for President Donald Trump to be hit with a lawsuit over his executive order seeking to end the practice of near-universal birthright citizenship in the US, Report informs via Politico.

Immigrant rights advocates brought the suit Monday night in federal court in New Hampshire on behalf of a group representing Indonesian migrants in that state, along with other groups representing Latinos and so-called Dreamers — individuals brought to the US as children by parents who entered or remained in the country illegally.

It’s the first of a wave of suits expected to be filed over Trump’s order. State officials from California and Illinois, among others, have indicated plans to sue over the president’s directive, which was widely advertised in advance.

The suit filed in New Hampshire contends that Trump’s order violates the Constitution’s 14th Amendment as well as federal law that has been on the books for more than 80 years.

“Neither the Constitution nor any federal statute confers any authority on the President to redefine American citizenship,” the suit says. “By attempting to limit the right to birthright citizenship, the Order exceeds the President’s authority and runs afoul of the Constitution and federal statute.”

The suit also says Trump’s order, if enforced, could render some children stateless.

The complaint in the case was signed by a total of 26 attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union, State Democracy Defenders Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund and the Asian Law Caucus and lists New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens and Make the Road New York as the plaintiffs in the case.