AZ Attorney General challenges Trump birthright executive order

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Attorney General Kris Mayes announced today she is joining a multistate federal lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that would end birthright citizenship.

”No executive order can supersede the United States Constitution and over 150 years of settled law,” said Attorney General Mayes. “While President Trump may want to take this nation back to a time before all American citizens were treated equally under the law – we will not allow him to do so. I am proud to stand with my fellow attorneys general to defend the Constitutional rights that countless American patriots have fought for and died to protect.”

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, was joined by Washington, Oregon, and Illinois. The complaint asserts that President Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship in the United States violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.

The lawsuit now includes nearly two dozen states.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

The Immigration and Nationality Act likewise states that “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is a national and a citizen of the U.S. at birth.

Attorney General Mayes says if allowed to stand, the order would cause thousands of newborns and children in Arizona to lose their ability to fully and fairly participate in American society as citizens, despite the Constitution’s guarantee of their citizenship.

”Birthright citizenship has allowed America to become the vibrant and dynamic home to families from all corners of this planet,” continued Attorney General Mayes. “It has helped make our country the strong, prosperous, and great nation that it is today.”

Mayes added the federal order will also cause irreparable harm to Arizonans, including the most vulnerable Arizona children by making it harder for the Department of Child Safety to place children in its custody with extended family members. The Department prioritizes kinship placements because placing abandoned, neglected or abused children with their relatives reduces trauma and improves outcomes for the children.

You can watch Mayes’ comments in the video player.

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