Attorney General Charity Clark announced on Feb. 26 that she has joined a multistate coalition in defending birthright citizenship before the U.S. Supreme Court, opposing an executive order issued by President Trump that seeks to end this constitutional right for children born in the United States to immigrant parents.
The issue is significant because it concerns the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, both of which guarantee citizenship to those born on U.S. soil. The executive order, issued by President Trump on his first day in office in 2025, was immediately challenged by groups of states through lawsuits in federal courts, resulting in nationwide preliminary injunctions that blocked its implementation.
The Supreme Court is now reviewing the validity of this order as part of a case brought by children who would lose their citizenship under its terms. Clark and attorneys general from 23 other states and jurisdictions have submitted an amicus brief arguing that the executive order violates established legal precedent and would cause harm to both individuals and state governments. “The children stripped of their citizenship lose their most basic rights, and will be forced to live under a threat of deportation,” the brief states. “Some babies will be stateless, lacking a home country to return to. They will lose eligibility for a wide range of federal services and programs.”
According to the filing, if implemented, the order could result in loss of federal funding for state-administered programs such as Medicaid and foster care assistance, while also requiring costly changes to how benefits are managed at the state level. The brief also warns that although the order claims it would only apply prospectively, there is concern it could eventually affect Americans who have held birthright citizenship for decades.
Joining Vermont Attorney General Clark are attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin as well as San Francisco.
A copy of the amicus brief is available on the Vermont Attorney General’s website.
