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California’s top prosecutor announced Tuesday that the state has filed a lawsuit in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. Rob Bonta said moments before a 9:30 a.m. news conference began that he filed the litigation challenging the president’s action, explaining that it violates both the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act.See Rob Bonta’s full news conference in the video below.Under the amendment, anyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a citizen of the country. On Trump’s first day back in office, he announced several executive orders addressing immigration and mass deportations, including his intent to remove birthright citizenship.Bonta said Trump has “overstepped his authority by a mile” and that the state plans to “hold him accountable.””I’ll see you in court,” Bonta said.Read the full complaint here.California is joined by prosecutors in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, along with 15 other states in suing Trump over the executive order.The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, and California is uniquely tied to birthright citizenship. In 1898, a San Francisco-born Chinese American was denied entry back to the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act that was in effect back then.Wong Kim Ark challenged his denial back into the country, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The court established that those born in the United States, including those born to immigrants, could not be denied citizenship.Bonta has requested a preliminary injunction in an attempt to prevent the executive order from taking immediate effect. He warns that the order would prevent thousands of people born in this country from several rights guaranteed as U.S. citizens, such as social security, the right to work legally, the right to vote and serve on juries and the right to serve in some political offices.Related CoverageNorCal organizations see influx of concerned callers as President Trump takes officeSacramento DACA Dreamer left uncertain as President Trump takes office againStockton PD: ‘We take pride in our approach to not enforcing immigration laws’The order would also result in several states losing federal funding and financial assistance because many of those programs receive money based on the number of eligible recipients.In an interview with KCRA 3 right before Trump took office, Bonta said his office has been preparing for months ahead of Trump action on immigration. Read more here.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletterPHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4K
California’s top prosecutor announced Tuesday that the state has filed a lawsuit in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.
Rob Bonta said moments before a 9:30 a.m. news conference began that he filed the litigation challenging the president’s action, explaining that it violates both the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Immigration and Nationality Act.
See Rob Bonta’s full news conference in the video below.
Under the amendment, anyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a citizen of the country. On Trump’s first day back in office, he announced several executive orders addressing immigration and mass deportations, including his intent to remove birthright citizenship.
Bonta said Trump has “overstepped his authority by a mile” and that the state plans to “hold him accountable.”
“I’ll see you in court,” Bonta said.
California is joined by prosecutors in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, along with 15 other states in suing Trump over the executive order.
The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, and California is uniquely tied to birthright citizenship. In 1898, a San Francisco-born Chinese American was denied entry back to the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act that was in effect back then.
Wong Kim Ark challenged his denial back into the country, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court. The court established that those born in the United States, including those born to immigrants, could not be denied citizenship.
Bonta has requested a preliminary injunction in an attempt to prevent the executive order from taking immediate effect. He warns that the order would prevent thousands of people born in this country from several rights guaranteed as U.S. citizens, such as social security, the right to work legally, the right to vote and serve on juries and the right to serve in some political offices.
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The order would also result in several states losing federal funding and financial assistance because many of those programs receive money based on the number of eligible recipients.
In an interview with KCRA 3 right before Trump took office, Bonta said his office has been preparing for months ahead of Trump action on immigration. Read more here.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter