California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta pushed back against President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, calling the order unconstitutional and filing a lawsuit as state lawmakers consider legislation to “Trump-proof” California by passing funding for deportation defense and lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Trump’s order targets the government’s interpretation under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which created the right of citizenship to all those born on U.S. soil largely to enshrine the rights of former slaves as American citizens after the Civil War.
The order says that under the 14th Amendment provision that excludes coverage of individuals born in the U.S. but “not subject to the jurisdiction thereof” also excludes the children of those born after Feb. 19, 2025, to mothers not lawfully present, or present only on a temporary lawful basis, when their fathers are, at the time of the child’s birth, neither American citizens nor lawful permanent residents.
Up until now, the provision has mostly been applied to the children of diplomats serving in the US, as diplomats have diplomatic immunity that leaves them exempt from American law while carrying out their official duties.
Newsom responded by simply saying, “This is unconstitutional,” while Bonta’s lawsuit joining a coalition of nearly 20 states, districts, attorneys general and municipalities, said, “Birthright citizenship is a right expressly guaranteed under the Constitution.”
“More than 125 years ago, the Supreme Court confirmed that this entitles a child born in the United States to noncitizen parents to automatic citizenship … Congress subsequently codified that understanding in the Immigration and Nationality Act,” wrote the coalition in its lawsuit. “Every year, thousands of children are born in Plaintiffs’ jurisdictions to parents who lack legal status or have a lawful status on a temporary basis. Under the Order, such children born after February 19, 2025 – who would have been unquestionably deemed citizens had they been born two days ago – will lack any legal status in the eyes of the federal government.”
In California, where native-born outmigration has led to several years of population decline until this year, when international migration surged and finally exceeded domestic losses, such a change could severely reduce the number of future citizens in the state.
According to the American Immigration Council, 27% of California residents are foreign born, and 20% of U.S.-born California residents have at least one immigrant parent, meaning half of California residents are foreign-born or have an immigrant parent. California is estimated to host 2.7 million illegal immigrants, whose children would largely be ineligible for American citizenship under the order.
California lawmakers are currently weighing bills in a Newsom-called special session to “Trump-proof” California that provides $25 million in funding for lawsuits against the Trump administration, and $25 million for the deportation defense of illegal immigrants.
However, with the American Civil Liberties Union having responded by filing a federal lawsuit in New Hampshire, it’s likely a judge will issue a preliminary injunction against the order halting its implementation, as happened after Trump issued an executive order during his first term that stripped federal funding from sanctuary jurisdictions that have laws limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
