CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today issued the following statement after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in three lawsuits, including one filed by Raoul and three attorneys general, challenging President Trump’s unlawful executive order attempting to unilaterally end birthright citizenship. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and Washington Attorney General Nicholas W. Brown joined Attorney General Raoul in filing the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle. In February, the federal court granted the coalition’s motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction, halting implementation of the executive order.
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“As Illinois’ Attorney General, I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and to protect the rights of all Illinois residents. And as a birthright citizen myself, born to an immigrant mother not yet naturalized at the time, the fight to preserve birthright citizenship is a personal one. I am proud to stand with my colleagues to defend the rule of law and the 14th Amendment, which was enshrined in our Constitution more than 150 years ago.
“The government’s own arguments today demonstrated how little thought was given to the practical implementation or impact of stripping citizenship from thousands of infants born in this country. No president can unilaterally disregard the Constitution. Full stop. Justice Jackson rightly stated that the president of the United States is supposed to be bound by the law, and the courts have the authority to determine what the law is.
“Our coalition remains firmly committed to defending against the Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to upend the 14th Amendment and sow confusion and fear throughout the country.”
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