RALEIGH — North Carolina’s new Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson has joined the lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for those born to individuals illegally or temporarily in the country.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, is brought by 18 Democratic state attorneys general, including Jackson. The city and county of San Francisco are also plaintiffs.
“This executive order is a straightforward violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all people born on U.S. soil,” Jackson said in a press release. “For over a century, this principle has been upheld by the Supreme Court and remains a bedrock of our constitutional framework.”
The executive order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” focuses on the 14th Amendment, stating the amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”
Trump’s executive order rescinds automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States if their mother was either unlawfully present or temporarily legally present, such as those on a tourist or student visa, and if their father was not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident at the time of birth.
The executive order directs federal agencies to stop issuing citizenship documents to such individuals born 30 days after the order’s date of Jan. 20, 2025, though it does not affect children of lawful permanent residents or those born before the order was issued.
“The Constitution leaves no room for executive reinterpretation on this matter — it is clear, settled, and binding,” said Jackson. “This order seeks to undermine that clarity, creating legal uncertainty and denying fundamental rights to children born in this country.”
In his release, Jackson said Trump’s order violates the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” He also said the order violates Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“As Attorney General, my role is straightforward as well: to defend the Constitution,” Jackson said. “That’s why I’ve joined this lawsuit, to uphold the rule of law and preserve the rights that have defined our nation for generations.”
Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. District Court Western District of Washington in Seattle, bringing the total to 22 states and two cities suing over the order.
The lawsuits filed by state attorneys general follow a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on Jan. 20. The ACLU’s lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction on the executive order.
“Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional — it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “Birthright citizenship is part of what makes the United States the strong and dynamic nation that it is.
“This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans. We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged.”
According to the ACLU press release, the lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, the ACLU of New Hampshire, the ACLU of Maine, the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Asian Law Caucus and the State Democracy Defenders Fund.
Additionally, the Legal Defense Fund is a plaintiff in the case on behalf of organizations with “members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order,” which include New Hampshire Indonesian Community Support, League of United Latin American Citizens and Make the Road New York.
