Delaware News

AG Jennings secures court injunction in birthright citizenship case

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | News | Date Posted: Thursday, February 13, 2025


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center

A federal judge has once again sided with Attorney General Kathy Jennings and a coalition of states suing the Trump administration, this time by issuing a preliminary injunction against the President’s executive order terminating birthright citizenship in violation of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“The Court’s ruling should remind the President that we are a nation of laws as much as we are a nation of immigrants,” said Attorney General Jennings. “The Constitution could not be any clearer. Today’s order protects not only American children — who deserve the same rights and opportunities as me, the president, and everyone else — but the institutions that restored this country after the Civil War.”

President Trump issued an executive order on January 20 to end birthright citizenship, in violation of the 14th Amendment and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

To stop the President’s unlawful action, which would harm hundreds of thousands of American children and their families, Jennings and others sued in federal courts to invalidate the executive order and to enjoin any actions taken to implement it. The states requested preliminary relief to prevent the President’s Order from taking effect. Today, Judge Leo Sorokin granted that relief, pending a trial.

Birthright citizenship dates back centuries—including to pre-Civil War America. Although the Supreme Court’s notorious decision in Dred Scott denied birthright citizenship to the descendants of slaves, the post-Civil War United States adopted the 14th Amendment to protect citizenship for all children born in this country.

If allowed to stand, this Order would have, for the first time since 1868, denied citizenship rights to as many as 700 babies born each year in Delaware.

Those stripped of their United States citizenship lose their most basic rights. They are forced to live under the threat of deportation; they lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefits programs; their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work lawfully; they lose their right to vote, serve on juries, and run for office. Despite the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship, thousands of children would—for the first time since slavery—have been denied that guarantee, with all its rights and privileges.

In addition to harming hundreds of thousands of residents, Trump’s order would have significantly harmed the States themselves. Among other things, the order would have caused the States to lose federal funding for programs that they administer, such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and foster care and adoption assistance programs, all of which rely at least in part on the immigration status of the resident being served. States would also be required—on no notice and at its considerable expense—to immediately begin modifying their operation and administration of benefits programs to account for this change, which would require significant burdens for multiple agencies that operate programs for the benefit of the States’ residents.

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.

AG Jennings secures court injunction in birthright citizenship case

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | News | Date Posted: Thursday, February 13, 2025


Navy blue background featuring the Delaware state seal in the center

A federal judge has once again sided with Attorney General Kathy Jennings and a coalition of states suing the Trump administration, this time by issuing a preliminary injunction against the President’s executive order terminating birthright citizenship in violation of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

“The Court’s ruling should remind the President that we are a nation of laws as much as we are a nation of immigrants,” said Attorney General Jennings. “The Constitution could not be any clearer. Today’s order protects not only American children — who deserve the same rights and opportunities as me, the president, and everyone else — but the institutions that restored this country after the Civil War.”

President Trump issued an executive order on January 20 to end birthright citizenship, in violation of the 14th Amendment and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

To stop the President’s unlawful action, which would harm hundreds of thousands of American children and their families, Jennings and others sued in federal courts to invalidate the executive order and to enjoin any actions taken to implement it. The states requested preliminary relief to prevent the President’s Order from taking effect. Today, Judge Leo Sorokin granted that relief, pending a trial.

Birthright citizenship dates back centuries—including to pre-Civil War America. Although the Supreme Court’s notorious decision in Dred Scott denied birthright citizenship to the descendants of slaves, the post-Civil War United States adopted the 14th Amendment to protect citizenship for all children born in this country.

If allowed to stand, this Order would have, for the first time since 1868, denied citizenship rights to as many as 700 babies born each year in Delaware.

Those stripped of their United States citizenship lose their most basic rights. They are forced to live under the threat of deportation; they lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefits programs; their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work lawfully; they lose their right to vote, serve on juries, and run for office. Despite the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship, thousands of children would—for the first time since slavery—have been denied that guarantee, with all its rights and privileges.

In addition to harming hundreds of thousands of residents, Trump’s order would have significantly harmed the States themselves. Among other things, the order would have caused the States to lose federal funding for programs that they administer, such as Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and foster care and adoption assistance programs, all of which rely at least in part on the immigration status of the resident being served. States would also be required—on no notice and at its considerable expense—to immediately begin modifying their operation and administration of benefits programs to account for this change, which would require significant burdens for multiple agencies that operate programs for the benefit of the States’ residents.

image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.