The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other advocacy groups asked a federal judge Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s latest efforts to restrict birthright citizenship, arguing that two new executive orders conflict with a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The legal challenge comes days after Trump signed two executive orders taking a narrower approach to birthright citizenship following the Supreme Court’s rejection of his earlier, broader effort.
The new orders target several categories, including so-called “birth tourism,” in which foreign nationals allegedly travel to the US for the purpose of giving birth and obtaining US citizenship for their children. The administration also seeks to deny automatic citizenship in certain cases involving parents working for foreign governments, immigration fraud and people classified as alien enemies.
Trump defended the new measures while signing them at the White House last week.
“They’re buying their way in, and we’re not going to let it happen,” Trump said of birth tourism. “We’re making adjustments because it’s very unfair.”
The White House has argued that the new actions comply with the Supreme Court’s guidance and are designed to protect the integrity of the US immigration system.
The ACLU and other plaintiffs disagree.
In a filing Tuesday in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire, the groups asked a judge to make clear that the administration cannot enforce the new directives against children protected by an earlier injunction.
The plaintiffs are seeking either a new injunction or clarification of the existing order to prevent the administration from denying citizenship under the latest executive actions.
The dispute follows a major Supreme Court ruling on June 30 rejecting Trump’s earlier attempt to restrict automatic citizenship for US-born children based on their parents’ immigration status.
That case centered on the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which provides citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction.
Trump responded to the defeat by pursuing a narrower set of restrictions.
The new measures, signed Aug. 6, do not simply recreate the administration’s previous policy. Instead, they seek to identify specific circumstances in which the administration argues automatic citizenship should not apply.
One order focuses on birth tourism and directs the government to deny entry to people officials determine are seeking to enter the country primarily to give birth and obtain citizenship for their children.
Another targets additional categories of US-born children whose parents fall under circumstances identified by the administration.
The ACLU argues that Trump still lacks the authority to use executive action to determine which US-born children are entitled to citizenship.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s clear direction,” attorneys argued, Trump “continues to claim for himself the power to identify categories of children whose citizenship he intends to deny.”
The plaintiffs asked the court to make clear that the government cannot strip citizenship protections from members of the affected class through additional executive orders.
Trump has long sought to narrow birthright citizenship, arguing that existing policies are exploited by people who enter the country specifically to secure citizenship for their children, per the Daily Mail.
The administration has characterized birth tourism as an abuse of the immigration system and said its latest action is intended to prevent people from using temporary admission to obtain US citizenship for their children.
Opponents argue that the 14th Amendment prevents a president from unilaterally eliminating citizenship for most children born on US soil.
The latest challenge does not mean Trump’s new orders have been blocked.
The ACLU and other plaintiffs are asking the federal court to prevent their enforcement, leaving the ultimate fate of the new restrictions to another round of litigation.
