New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin issued a statement following the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to uphold a preliminary injunction that prevents the implementation of an executive order by President Trump aimed at ending birthright citizenship.
Platkin stated, “As we have been saying since Inauguration Day, the President cannot rewrite citizenship with the stroke of a pen. We are grateful that the First Circuit has unanimously agreed that President Trump’s executive order to terminate birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, violates centuries of Supreme Court precedent and history, and must remain blocked across the country. Every judge to consider the merits has agreed the President cannot upend a constitutional consensus that has existed at every point in our history except for the Civil War. We look forward to continuing this fight, which is existential to our Constitution and our democratic republic.”
The case centers on an executive order from former President Trump seeking to end automatic citizenship for those born in the United States. The court’s ruling maintains a nationwide block on enforcing this policy while legal challenges continue.
The debate over birthright citizenship relates to interpretations of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.
