WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, America First Legal (AFL) and Boyden Gray PLLC filed an amicus brief in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on behalf of U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and 17 members of the House Judiciary Committee in Washington v. Trump, defending President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” However, the text and history of this provision do not confer citizenship on the children of aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States.
In its brief, AFL argues:
- Citizenship is a political right granted by Congress, not an automatic entitlement.
- Congress has never authorized birthright citizenship for the children of aliens unlawfully present in the country.
- No other branch of the U.S. government — including the Executive Branch — has the authority to confer birthright citizenship.
Accordingly, AFL supports President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, which underscores that the Executive Branch cannot grant citizenship to those illegally present in the United States.
AFL is proud to represent the following members of Congress in filing this brief: Chairman Jim Jordan and Reps. Andy Biggs, Chip Roy, Brandon Gill, Troy Nehls, Lance Gooden, Victoria Spartz, Mark Harris, Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Onder, Harriet M. Hageman, Tom McClintock, Wesley Hunt, Glenn Grothman, Ben Cline, Russell Fry, Michael Baumgartner, and Brad Knott.
Read the amicus brief here.
Photo credit – adobe stock images: Ruslan Gilmanshin
