22 states jointly sue President Trump's new government

The lawsuits center on the executive order repealing birthright citizenship, an early move by Democrats to challenge President Trump’s agenda in the courts.

After his inauguration on January 20, President Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order requiring federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born on US soil if neither parent is a US citizen or a legal permanent resident.

Twenty-two Democratic-led states, along with Washington, DC and San Francisco, filed a lawsuit in federal courts in Boston and Seattle, alleging that President Trump violated the US Constitution.

In addition, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), immigrant rights organizations and a pregnant woman also filed a lawsuit just hours after Mr. Trump signed the decree, starting the first major legal battle of this presidency.

According to Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, if President Trump's executive order goes into effect, more than 150,000 children born in the United States each year will lose their citizenship. "President Trump does not have the authority to take away constitutional rights," Ms. Campbell said.

Losing citizenship would disqualify these individuals from federal programs like Medicaid, as well as being unable to work legally or vote as adults.

"Today's immediate announcement of the lawsuit sends a clear message to the Trump administration that we will protect the fundamental rights of our residents," said New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

The White House has not yet responded to the above information.

The lawsuits argued that Mr. Trump's order violated the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that anyone born on U.S. soil is considered a citizen.

The lawsuit also cites the 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are still entitled to be recognized as U.S. citizens.

Three of the four lawsuits were filed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Rulings from those states will be reviewed by the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, where all of the current judges are appointed by Democrats.

Four other states filed separate lawsuits in Washington, under the jurisdiction of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which repeatedly blocked Mr. Trump’s agenda during his first term, although the composition of the court has changed with Mr. Trump’s appointments.

In addition to the civil rights lawsuits, several other lawsuits are underway, including one from the National Treasury Employees Union challenging Mr. Trump’s executive order that would make it easier to fire federal employees and replace them with political loyalists.

More lawsuits are expected from Democratic-led states and advocacy groups challenging other aspects of Mr Trump’s agenda, with lawsuits already filed challenging the Department of Government Efficiency led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.