House Democrats File Brief Opposing Trump’s Attempt to End Birthright Citizenship
Lawmakers argue executive order violates Constitution, over a century of legal precedent.
WASHINGTON — House Democrats filed an amicus brief Friday in Trump v. CASA, Inc., urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold a nationwide injunction blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.
The brief—signed by 170 House Democrats—argues that the order is unconstitutional and violates more than a century of Supreme Court precedent, including the landmark 1898 decision United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed that anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
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“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are taking a chainsaw to the United States Constitution,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “Their disgraceful actions on birthright citizenship violate our nation’s laws and are an assault on the American way of life.”
The case stems from Trump’s 2025 executive order attempting to unilaterally revoke the constitutional guarantee of citizenship for children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants. A federal court blocked the order, and the administration is appealing that decision.
The filing marks the latest in a series of legal challenges mounted by the House Litigation and Rapid Response Task Force, led by Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD). The group has previously filed briefs in high-profile immigration and constitutional cases, including Trump v. Washington and Trump v. New Jersey.
“President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional,” Neguse said. “House Democrats will continue to vindicate our constitution.”
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Raskin emphasized that “a presidential executive order cannot override the U.S. Constitution to strip millions of Americans born here of their rights and freedoms.”
Other signatories included Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), and leaders from the Congressional Black, Hispanic, Asian Pacific American, and Jewish Caucuses.
“We will not allow the Trump administration to redefine what it is to be an American just to fit their extreme anti-immigrant beliefs,” Thompson said.
Jayapal, the first immigrant to serve as ranking member of the immigration subcommittee, called the executive order “a dangerous overreach of executive power.”
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“This is about equal opportunity for every American born in this country,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said birthright citizenship “has been affirmed by the Supreme Court numerous times.”
The Democratic lawmakers also rejected what they described as an authoritarian impulse in Trump’s actions.
“Donald Trump is not a king,” said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus. “Our Constitution clearly says if you are born here, you are a citizen.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), also a CJC co-chair, warned that Trump’s actions “represent an assault on our democracy.”
The amicus brief comes as courts continue to weigh the constitutional limits of executive power over immigration. Oral arguments in the case have not yet been scheduled.