(The Center Square) – Dozens of city, county, and state attorneys are keeping a close eye on the Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship.
The attorneys argue the administration’s efforts will harm educational outcomes, local economies and public health.
Attorneys wrote a letter to the Supreme Court in April stating President Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” applies too broad a definition to birthright citizenship. This definition, the attorneys argue, will prevent children and families from accessing federally funded health and welfare programs.
“If implemented, the order will create a permanent underclass of people with unequal rights,” the attorneys wrote.
Additionally, attorneys argue federally funded health and welfare benefits would be impacted because a United States birth certificate would no longer be adequate to satisfy citizenship requirements.
The reduction of federally funded health and welfare benefits would cause blockages in state-provided services, according to the attorneys.
“Local governments do not have the resources to absorb the anticipated spike in demand for these services that would follow implementation of the order,” the attorneys wrote.
Specifically, attorneys highlighted programs like Medicaid and SNAP would be affected by the order.
“By denying children birthright citizenship and rendering them ineligible for federal public assistance, the order will increase hunger, poverty, and preventable disease across the nation,” attorneys wrote.
The attorneys also highlighted concerns regarding harm to educational outcomes by complicating the process for international students
The order, signed by Trump on Jan. 20, argues that the Fourteenth Amendment does not guarantee birthright citizenship to children whose mother or father are in the country illegally or temporarily.
District courts in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington blocked the orders from the Trump administration through a preliminary injunction, preventing the order from going into effect throughout the country.
The Trump administration argued the injunction should only apply to those represented in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington.
However, attorneys from dozens of cities and counties across the country said only applying the injunction to certain states would cause mass confusion and discrepancies in citizenship requirements from state to state.
“Such a result would be incoherent and fundamentally at odds with the guarantee of national citizenship provided in the Fourteenth Amendment,” the attorneys wrote.
The decision is left with the Supreme Court as it will decide whether to keep the nationwide injunction in place or allow states and local governments to make decisions regarding birthright citizenship.
