MADISON, Wis. — Led by Governor Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul, the State of Wisconsin is joining a coalition to challenge the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order attempting to end certain entitlements regarding birthright citizenship.
As announced via the Wisconsin Department of Justice on Tuesday afternoon, Wisconsin is joining 19 other states in this coalition: New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Michigan, Colorado, Delaware, Nevada, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Vermont and North Carolina, plus the nation’s capital, Washington D.C.
The coalition claims that President Trump’s executive order violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was finalized in the wake of the Civil War, and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
“The Constitution, federal law, and Supreme Court precedent all make clear that the children who would be impacted by this executive order are United States citizens,” Attorney General Kaul said. “This attempt to deny them citizenship in blatant violation of the Constitution should be rejected.”
According to a report from The Associated Press, the President’s executive order is questioning and/or removing rights to the following groups of people: “those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.”
This is supposed to take effect on February 19, 2025, and formally prohibits federal agencies from recognizing individuals who meet these conditions as U.S. citizens.
“Attempting to deny citizenship to kids who were born in the United States of America is as egregious and wrong-headed as it is unconstitutional,” Gov. Evers said. “We must defend Americans’ constitutional rights, including the rights of kids who are born on U.S. soil, and that is exactly what we are doing today.”
The lawsuit is being filed formally through the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in the hopes of nullifying the executive order.
This executive order would clear the way for mass deportations to target individuals who would’ve otherwise had protections from such federal operations.
This is a developing news story. An update and/or follow-up may be issued as further details are revealed.
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