Boston federal judge considers blocking executive order ending birthright citizenship

By Olivia Peters

A Boston federal judge is now considering a request made by 18 state attorneys general that would block President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. 

The executive order denies U.S. citizenship to children born to undocumented or lawful immigrants who are in the country temporarily. 

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell is one of the 18 state attorneys general suing President Trump over this executive order. “The president cannot change the Constitution with a Sharpie or a sham executive order,” Campbell said at a press conference.

Campbell’s lawsuit states that 4,200 babies born in Massachusetts in 2022 “were born to two parents who were noncitizens and lacked legal status.” 

Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is another one of the 18 state attorneys general. As a first-generation American, he said, “The 14th Amendment leaves no room for interpretation.” 

Tong said at the press conference, “If you read the language, OK, it could not be more clear. You’re born on American soil; you’re an American.” Tong added, “Because if that’s not true, I’m not standing here,” 

Part of the executive order passed by Trump states, “The 14th Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof.'”