Attorney General Ellison sues to block executive order on birthright citizenship
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (KVRR) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that he and the attorneys general of 20 states along with the City of San Francisco have sued to block President Donald Trump’s executive order that purports to end birthright citizenship.
Birthright citizenship is guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
In their lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition of attorneys general asked the court to invalidate the executive order and block any actions taken to implement it. They request immediate relief to prevent the President’s order from taking effect.
“Only hours ago, the President swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, then broke it almost as soon as he took it. I am using the power of my office and the law to join with other state attorneys general from coast to coast to quickly and clearly bring suit to stop this unprecedented, blatant breach of the Constitution by a President,” Attorney General Ellison said.
In the lawsuit, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition explain that birthright citizenship dates back centuries, even to before the Civil War and the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in its aftermath.
According to a 2025 analysis by the National Demographics Corporation, in 2022, an estimated 153,000 children nationwide were born to two parents who were noncitizens and lacked legal status.
If allowed to stand, this Executive Order — for the first time since the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in 1868 — would mean that these children would be deprived of the privileges and benefits of citizenship, despite the Constitution’s guarantee, and would lose their ability to fully and fairly contribute to American society. The individuals who are stripped of their United States citizenship would be suddenly forced to live under the threat of deportation, yet many would be stateless with no clear citizenship in any country.
Joining Attorney General Ellison in filing today’s lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District Massachusetts are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the City and County of San Francisco. The attorneys general of Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington filed an identical lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
