Washington Trump Birthright Citizenship EO Challenge

A pro-democracy lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Executive Order attempting to end birthright citizenship.

Background

Attorneys general from Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 Executive Order (EO) ending birthright citizenship. The EO limits citizenship only to children born in the United States with at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident. Plaintiffs assert the EO violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause and the Immigration and Nationality Act. The lawsuit seeks to block the EO’s implementation.

Why It Matters

Trump’s unprecedented challenge to one our nation’s most fundamental constitutional guarantees fits squarely within the administration’s broader anti-immigrant agenda. The EO seeks to destabilize the rule of law and limit who may be entitled to constitutional protections such as the freedom of speech and right to due process.

Latest Updates

• Dec. 5, 2025: The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Trump administration’s EO ending birthright citizenship in Barbara v. Trump.
• Nov. 6, 2025: The Trump administration filed their reply brief.
• Oct. 29, 2025: The State of Washington filed their response brief.
• Sept. 26, 2025: The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to uphold the EO ending birthright citizenship, arguing the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause was not meant to include children of people in the United States unlawfully or on short-term visas.
• Aug. 11, 2025: The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction.
• June 27, 2025: The Supreme Court limited federal courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions in Trump v. CASA.
• Feb. 6, 2025: District court granted plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction. Defendants appealed the preliminary injunction to the Ninth Circuit.
• Feb. 4, 2025: Consolidated plaintiffs submitted amended complaint.
• Jan. 29, 2025: Defendants appealed temporary restraining order.
• Jan. 27, 2025: Plaintiffs filed a motion for preliminary injunction. The court issued a consolidation order of cases and plaintiffs.
• Jan. 23, 2025: The district court granted plaintiffs’ temporary restraining order. 
• Jan. 21, 2025: Plaintiffs filed their complaint and requested an emergency temporary restraining order.