Attorney General Phil Weiser and coalition of attorneys general release statement on preliminary injunction issued in birthright citizenship case
Feb. 13, 2025 (DENVER)— Attorney General Phil Weiser today joined a coalition of attorneys general and the city of San Francisco in issuing the following statement after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order terminating birthright citizenship (PDF download):
“President Trump may believe that he is above the law, but today’s preliminary injunction sends a clear message: He is not a king, and he cannot rewrite the Constitution with the stroke of a pen.
“The President and his allies made clear long before he was sworn in that they would pursue this illegal action, and our coalition was prepared to challenge it as soon as President Trump fulfilled this unconstitutional campaign promise on Inauguration Day.
“We immediately stood up for our Constitution, for the rule of law, and for American children across the country who would have been deprived of their constitutional rights – and today we delivered for them. This is not yet over, and we will continue to fight every single step of the way until President Trump is permanently prevented from trampling on the Fourteenth Amendment rights of all Americans.”
On Jan. 20, 2025, Trump issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship, violating the 14th Amendment and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. To stop this unlawful action, a coalition of attorneys general sued in the District of Massachusetts, seeking to block the order and prevent its enforcement. Judge Leo Sorokin granted their request for immediate relief.
Birthright citizenship has been a fundamental American principle for centuries, predating the Civil War. While the Supreme Court’s infamous Dred Scott decision denied citizenship to enslaved people’s descendants, the 14th Amendment was later adopted to ensure citizenship for all children born in the United States. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently reaffirmed that birthright citizenship applies regardless of a child’s parents’ immigration status.
If upheld, the executive order would strip citizenship from thousands of babies born in Colorado and across the country, denying them basic rights and protections. These children would lose access to Social Security numbers, federal programs, and lawful employment. They would be unable to obtain passports, vote, serve on juries, or run for certain offices—despite the Constitution’s guarantee of their citizenship.
Beyond harming individuals, the executive order would impose significant costs on states. It would jeopardize federal funding for critical programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and foster care services, which rely on residents’ citizenship status. States would be forced to overhaul benefit programs at great expense, despite the order’s clear conflict with the Constitution and Supreme Court precedent.
The attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and the city and county of San Francisco have joined Colorado in this lawsuit.
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