Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

Attorney General Nick Brown signs his election certificate after being sworn in January 15. (Image: Ryan Berry/Washington State Standard)

Washington AG sues Trump admin over birthright citizenship cancellation order

Seattle judge blocks trump order that would impact thousand here and across nation

UPDATE: On January 23, a federal judge in Seattle temporarily blocked President Donald Trumpā€™s executive order stop birthright citizenship, which promises American citizenship to all those born in the United States, regardless of parent legal status.Ā Senior U.S. District Judge John Coughenour’s temporary restraining order blocks the order from taking effect nationwide.

_______________________________________________________

Washingtonā€™s attorney general, along with three other states, sued the Trump administration Tuesday over the presidentā€™s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.

Attorney General Nick Brownā€™sĀ lawsuit in U.S. District Court in SeattleĀ comes just 24 hours after President Donald Trump took office for a second time Monday.

The Democratic attorney general, who took office last week, announced the litigation Tuesday in a press conference in Seattle. Oregon, Arizona and Illinois joined the lawsuit.

Brown said he would be filing an emergency motion to block federal agencies ā€œrelying on the order to deny citizenship to babies born in our state.ā€ An attorney generalā€™s office spokesperson added the order will seek to stop enforcement of the order ā€œin its entirety.ā€

ā€œOn Monday, one man, the president, said that the citizenship of millions of Americans born to immigrants in this country means less,ā€ Brown said, ā€œthat the children of immigrants born into citizenship donā€™t have as much value in this country as others. He is wrong.ā€

Attorneys general from 18 other states also sued over the order in federal court in Massachusetts.

Brown noted his lawsuit is similar, but said he felt Washington should lead a separate case because of ā€œspecific and unique harms that are brought here.ā€ He also said ā€œwe have a very good set of judges in our bench here in Washington, so I feel like this is the right place.ā€

A group of advocacy organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, has filed a legal challenge on the birthright citizenship order, as well.

Trumpā€™sĀ executive order, signed in the opening hours of his presidency, would block citizenship for children born to mothers who are in the United States illegally and whose fathers are not lawful permanent residents. It would also affect children born to mothers in the country temporarily, such as on student, work or tourist visas.

State House Republican Leader Drew Stokesbary, of Auburn, told reporters Tuesday morning he hadnā€™t seen the executive order or lawsuit.

ā€œWe got elected to solve state issues, not federal issues,ā€ Stokesbary said. ā€œI really like Nick Brown, but I would caution him the same way. He was elected to represent Washington and protect Washington state interests.ā€

Brown responded by saying he took an oath last week to defend the state and U.S. constitutions.

ā€œI would think that everyone in the Legislature, regardless of party, would want me to uphold my obligation, and it is in my judgment and the judgment of this team that the presidentā€™s order violates the law,ā€ he responded. ā€œSo I do not think that my friends in the Legislature of any party would want me to simply ignore that.ā€

Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said in a statement the attorney generalā€™s office will ā€œhave the full support of my administration.ā€

Precedent

TheĀ 14th Amendment to the U.S. ConstitutionĀ codified birthright citizenship in 1868. It begins: ā€œAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.ā€

The executive order, set to go into effect in 30 days, focuses on the ā€œsubject to the jurisdiction thereofā€ phrase.

ā€œThe Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,ā€ Trumpā€™s order reads. ā€œThe Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not ā€˜subject to the jurisdiction thereof.ā€™ā€

The lawsuit states, in 2022, about 255,000 children were born to undocumented mothers, including 7,000 in Washington state. About 4,000 were born to two parents without legal status.

The lawsuit, which calls Trumpā€™s order the ā€œCitizenship Stripping Order,ā€ argues those affected would lose access to numerous federal benefits. And states where they reside would lose federal funding because theyā€™re no longer citizens.

MĆ³nica Mendoza-Cawthon, a Kent resident from the immigrant rights organization OneAmerica, was born a U.S. citizen in King County after her parents, who were undocumented farmworkers, immigrated from Mexico. She went on to graduate from college and law school.

ā€œUnfortunately, we are in a dark time in our national government, where the dreams of my parents are threatened to be taken away for so many people in the future,ā€ she said in Tuesdayā€™s press conference.

Legal experts have said Trumpā€™s planĀ wonā€™t hold up in court.

In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship when it ruled a person born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a U.S. citizen. Brown called that ruling ā€œplain on its face.ā€

ā€œMy hope is that every level of court, the district court, the court of appeals, and if we go to the Supreme Court, would rule unanimously because of the well-established precedent,ā€ the attorney general said Tuesday.

Trump has eyed ending birthright citizenship since his first term.

After signing the order Monday, he acknowledged to reporters the policyĀ could face legal hurdles.

ā€œI think we have good grounds, but you could be right,ā€ Trump said. ā€œWeā€™ll find out.ā€

Laying the groundwork

In an interview last week, Brown highlighted birthright citizenship as a potential battleground with the Trump administration.

ā€œThere have been proposals to end birthright citizenship, for example, or at least attempt to, despite its real, solid constitutional Foundation,ā€ he said.

Trump issued dozens of executive orders on his first day focused on immigration and other areas. On Monday night, Brown described these as ā€œgravely concerning.ā€

ā€œWe will carefully analyze the orders and determine what legal action is appropriate,ā€ Brown said in a statement. ā€œSome examples, such as the presidentā€™s attack on birthright citizenship, are not only unconstitutional on their face, but simply un-American.ā€

Brown said he will ā€œcontinue to evaluateā€ the presidentā€™s other executive orders for potential legal challenges.

Washingtonā€™s House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, of Tacoma, said Tuesday that Brown called her about the lawsuit Monday night and that she supports it.

ā€œWe want to be as proactive as we can be and not be reactive,ā€ Jinkins told reporters.

Brown is no stranger to legal clashes with the Trump administration.

As former Gov. Jay Insleeā€™s legal counsel in 2017, he helped draft the administrationā€™s opposition to the federal ban on travel from predominantly Muslim countries.

In the days after the November election, Ferguson said his team had beenĀ preparing for a yearĀ for a second Trump presidency. This included reading all ofĀ Project 2025, the 1,000-page playbook for conservative policy. As attorney general, Ferguson sued the federal government dozens of times in Trumpā€™s first term.

On Tuesday, Brown thanked his predecessor for the preparation.

Legislature 2025: Weekly review and preview

About the Author

Jake Goldstein-Street

Jake joined the Standard after working as a breaking news reporter, investigative reporter and editor at The Everett Herald. He graduated from the University of Washington, where he edited for the student paper. Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, the nationā€™s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.