Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — This week, House Democrats’ Litigation and Rapid Response Task Force elevated their fight against the Trump Administration’s illegal attacks on the constitutional principle of birthright citizenship to the highest court in the land—filing an amicus brief for the  three birthright citizenship cases currently before the United States Supreme Court (Trump v. State of Washington, Trump v. CASA, Inc., and Trump v. State of New Jersey).

The brief was signed by 183 House Democrats and offers a compelling argument that President Trump’s week one order to strip the guarantee of citizenship provided to children born in America violates the Constitution and over a century of Supreme Court rulings, and laws enacted by Congress. The justices are set to hear oral arguments in the cases on May 15th, following the administration’s request that they lift a nationwide pause currently halting the implementation of this policy. 

The full brief is available HERE.  

The lawmakers first got involved when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit considered the case of Trump v. State of Washington. Their latest endeavor is again being led by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, along with Litigation Task Force Co-Chairs Ranking Member Jamie Raskin and Assistant Leader Joe Neguse; Representatives Bennie Thompson, Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, and Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement; as well as Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Yvette Clarke, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Adriano Espaillat, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chair Grace Meng, and Congressional Jewish Caucus (CJC) Co-Chairs Jerry Nadler and Brad Schneider.

See what they had to say below: 

“The first sentence of the 14th Amendment overthrew the Dred Scott decision and replaced racial citizenship with birthright citizenship. For more than a century and a half, the Supreme Court has upheld the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment and Congress has codified it. Four district judges, two Republican appointed and two Democratic appointees, rejected and enjoined Donald Trump’s blatantly unconstitutional order. We will all uphold and defend the Constitution against Donald Trump,” said Ranking Member Jamie Raskin. 

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are taking a chainsaw to the United States Constitution. Their disgraceful actions on birthright citizenship violate our nation’s laws and are an assault on the American way of life. House Democrats will continue to push back aggressively against them in the courts, in Congress and in our communities. The Supreme Court of the United States must stand on the side of the Constitution and reject this outrageous effort. I am thankful for the leadership of Rep. Raskin, Rep. Thompson, Rep. Jayapal, Rep. Clarke, Rep. Espaillat, Rep. Meng, Rep. Nadler, Rep. Schneider and Assistant Leader Neguse of the Litigation Working Group and Rapid Response Task Force in standing up for the rule of law,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

“President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, and as our amicus brief makes clear, House Democrats will continue to vindicate our constitution,” said Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse. 

“We will not allow the Trump administration to redefine what it is to be an American just to fit their extreme anti-immigrant beliefs. Under the Constitution, people born here are United States citizens – no matter who they are, what they look like, or where their families came from. Americans reject what Trump is attempting to do, and the Supreme Court must too,” said Ranking Member Bennie Thompson.

“Birthright citizenship is a core piece of our Constitution. Ending it through executive order is simply unconstitutional and a dangerous overreach of executive power,” said Ranking Member Pramila Jayapal. “All persons born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens, that is what our Constitution dictates and is something President Trump cannot undo by waving a pen. As the first immigrant to serve as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, I am proud to be co-leading on this amicus brief to stand up for the immigration laws of this country.”

“Birthright citizenship is enshrined in our Constitution and has been affirmed by the Supreme Court numerous times — including in the landmark United States v. Wong Kim Ark decision. No matter what President Trump says or does, he cannot unilaterally overrule the law of the land by signing a piece of paper. As Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, I join my colleagues in standing up for American values and against this unconstitutional executive overreach,” said CAPAC Chair Grace Meng.

“Birthright citizenship is a moral imperative in the United States because of its origins. It’s about our collective recovery from the evils of slavery, yes, but it’s also about equal opportunity for every American born in this country,” said CHC Chair Adriano Espaillat. “This brief reminds the Supreme Court of the historical weight of the 14th amendment and of the very real costs that would be imposed by additional legal requirements on all growing families by a spurious reinterpretation of this keystone amendment.”

“For more than a century, a cornerstone of our law is that those born on U.S. soil are American citizens. President Trump’s executive order to nullify birthright citizenship is in clear violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and is further evidence that extremist Republicans more concerned with dividing our country, not lower the cost of living, or improving economic conditions for hardworking Americans. President Trump has absolutely no authority to unilaterally write American citizens out of the Constitution, and any challenge to that notion is utterly fanciful. As Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am proud to join my colleagues in making clear that we will not stand down against President Trump and extremist Republicans’ lawless and xenophobic attacks,” said CBC Chair Yvette Clarke.

“Donald Trump is not a king. He cannot dismiss a century and a half of legal and judicial precedent that affirms the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment of our Constitution with the swipe of a pen. Our Constitution clearly says if you are born here, you are a citizen. I’m hopeful that our highest court will follow the precedent set by its predecessors and send a clear message to the President that his flagrant, illegal overreach will be stopped,” said CJC Co-Chair Brad Schneider.

“Donald Trump's divisive and xenophobic policies seek to divide and distract us,” said CJC Co-Chair Jerry Nadler. “We are dealing with a President who believes he is not just above the law, but above the U.S. Constitution.  The 14th Amendment is clear that persons born in the United States are U.S. citizens. And yet, President Trump feels compelled to single-handedly change what has been universally understood about the law since the Amendment was adopted in 1868.  All Americans should be disturbed by Trump's assertion that he can unilaterally change the Constitution at will to suit his purposes.  This represents an assault on our democracy, and we cannot stand idly by and allow the President to disregard fundamental pillars of the Constitution. That is why I am proud as the Congressional Jewish Caucus Co-chair to join my colleagues in leading this effort.”

For more information on House Democrats efforts to protect Americans against the unlawful actions of the Trump Administration, visit litigationandresponse.house.gov.