AG Davenport leads multistate effort defending birthright citizenship at Supreme Court
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport is leading a coalition of states in defending birthright citizenship before the U.S. Supreme Court, challenging a 2025 executive order by President Donald Trump that seeks to limit automatic citizenship for certain children born in the United States.
The coalition filed an amicus brief in the case Barbara v. Trump, which involves a challenge brought by a class of children who would lose citizenship under the order. The brief argues the executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment, longstanding Supreme Court precedent and federal immigration law.
On his first day in office in 2025, Trump issued an executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for certain children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents. New Jersey subsequently led a multistate lawsuit challenging the order. Courts have issued nationwide preliminary injunctions blocking the order from taking effect while legal challenges proceed.
“New Jersey continues to lead the way in defending our birthright citizens and the rule of law from attacks coming out of Washington, D.C.,” said Attorney General Davenport. “Instead of focusing on the cost of living or public safety, the President is unlawfully attempting to strip countless American babies of their citizenship, violating the Constitution, federal statutes, and over a century of Supreme Court precedent. The States are fighting back.”
The states argue that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and codified in Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. They note that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the principle that children born in the United States are citizens, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
According to the filing, if the executive order were upheld, thousands of children born each year in New Jersey and other states could be denied citizenship and the rights and benefits that come with it. The brief also warns that some children could become stateless.
The coalition contends the order would also have financial and administrative consequences for states, including potential losses in federal funding tied to citizenship status for programs such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, foster care and adoption assistance. States would also face costs associated with modifying benefits systems to reflect changes in citizenship eligibility, the brief states.
The coalition joining New Jersey includes the attorneys general of Washington, Massachusetts, California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as the city and county of San Francisco.
