Wisconsin AG joins lawsuit challenging Trump over birthright citizenship
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul is one of nearly two dozen attorneys general to join a lawsuit against President Trump and his administration.
Trump issued an executive order Monday to end birthright citizenship for children born to people who are in the United States illegally.
The lawsuit was jointly filed by 20 states and cities on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The court challenge was expected and could be just the tip of the iceberg.
Kaul told us, "This is a right that has been part of our system of American law for well over 100 years. The Constitution guarantees that people who were born in this country are citizens, we have Supreme Court precedent confirming that, and we have federal law confirming that."
Kaul said Democrats are looking into each of the dozens of executive orders President Trump signed in the first hours after taking office to see which others they may challenge.
First up is the fight over birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States. But in the Oval Office Monday, the President signed an executive order that says it does not apply when the person's mother was in the US unlawfully at the time of birth.
Now Wisconsin and 19 other states and cities want the US District Court in Massachusetts to invalidate the order and stop it from taking effect.
The legal battle could take months, as immigrant communities sweat out an uncertain future.
Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the executive director at Voces de la Frontera. She said, "This is really part of this broader agenda to create divisions in society."
Neumann-Ortiz calls it an effort to stigmatize immigrants.
City leaders in Milwaukee believe there is still a lot to determine about the future of President Donald Trump’s executive order related to birthright citizenship.
"Whatever happens, which we don’t know, they are equipped to make sure their rights aren’t violated," said Alderman Jose Perez, the president of the Milwaukee Common Council. "When the time comes for us to make a statement about it, my colleagues and I will deliberate, and I know I will be in support of any amicus brief or anything that we can at our level to support not changing the constitution."
A spokesperson for Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said he has expressed his opposition to the rhetoric and hostility directed toward immigrants. He added that there is so much we don’t know about the actions and the enforcement related to President Trump’s recent orders.
Birthright citizenship dates back more than 150 years. The 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868.
Kaul says the US Supreme Court has twice upheld birthright citizenship, regardless of the immigration status of the baby's parents.
Kaul said, "We're going to rely on previous case law that addresses these issues. The US Supreme Court has specifically addressed this topic before, the plain language of our US Constitution does, and so this is about upholding the rule of law and ensuring the rights of Americans are protected."
Roughly 100,000 American citizens would be impacted by the executive order if their citizenship was revoked.
It could also slash the amount of funding states receive for federal programs like Medicaid, foster care, and adoption services.
That money is doled out based on state population. If tens of thousands of people have their citizenship revoked, the amount of funding states receive will also be cut.
Kaul says Trump is ignoring the Constitution with the executive order while at the same time pardoning the January 6 insurrectionists. "These are efforts to undermine the rule of law," Kaul said.
Trump defended the blanket pardons and commutations Tuesday, even for those convicted of attacking law enforcement officers. From the White House, he said, "At least the cases we looked at, these were people that actually love our country so we thought a pardon would be appropriate."
Also Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security directed ICE to start arresting people at churches and schools, a reversal of a longstanding policy to avoid making arrests in sensitive locations.
Milwaukee leaders are monitoring the developments closely.
Perez told us, "I can tell you locally, the rhetoric, the news, the threats… people are scared."
Perez said people need to know their rights, secure an immigration attorney now, and be careful what they say if federal agents ask.
In the meantime, Kaul said he's looking into the other executive orders to see which should be challenged. "We're hopeful to work together where we can, but where the rights of people are threatened and undermined, we're also prepared to step up and take action."