The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump's second executive order targeting birthright citizenship, arguing it violates a Supreme Court decision.
The legal team filed a motion Tuesday in federal district court in New Hampshire. They are seeking a declaratory order that the new executive order, signed last week, defies the Supreme Court's June ruling, which reaffirmed birthright citizenship. The ACLU represented a class of potentially affected immigrant families in the filing.
Trump's second executive order attempts to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to individuals deemed an "alien enemy," a "foreign government employee," or a parent who "engaged in a commercial transaction" to obtain citizenship. It also targets children born in a territory where citizenship is not conferred by statute.
According to the ACLU's motion, none of the exemptions listed in the new order appear in the Constitution or federal citizenship law. The attorneys stated that the court should prevent the administration from continuing to challenge this "foundational constitutional principle."
In its June decision, the Supreme Court confirmed four categories of children born on U.S. soil who would not automatically become citizens: the children of ambassadors, those born on foreign public ships, those born to enemies occupying American territory, and members of Indian tribes. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in a concurring opinion, wrote that court precedent indicated these four exceptions were a "closed set."
Chief Justice John Roberts' majority opinion stated that the key determinant of citizenship was "fixed by the place of nativity, irrespective of parentage." The administration, however, argues that the categories specified in Trump's second executive order are acceptable exemptions under this legal interpretation. The second executive order is set to take effect on September 6.