A lawsuit has been filed to block President Donald Trump’s executive order that would end birthright citizenship.

Early Tuesday afternoon, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced he, as well as the attorneys general of more than a dozen states — including Wisconsin — asked the United States Supreme Court to invalidate the order, block any actions taken to implement the order and ask for immediate relief to prevent the order from taking effect.

Trump’s order, which can be found by CLICKING HERE, argues the amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the U.S., and has always excluded those born in the U.S. but weren’t subject to the country’s jurisdiction.

If the order stands, it will take effect on Feb. 19, 2025. The order bars federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in the following categories:

• Those whose mothers weren’t legally in the United States and whose fathers weren’t U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
• Those whose mothers were in the country legally but on a temporary basis and whose fathers weren’t citizens or legal permanent residents.

The full text of the lawsuit can be found at the bottom of this article. This lawsuit is separate from what Ellison’s office is calling “an identical lawsuit” filed by the attorneys general of Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington.

The plaintiffs argue birthright citizenship is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution to those born in the U.S., including the children of immigrants — regardless of the parents’ immigration status.

The first section of the 14th amendment reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.” You can read the full Constitution by CLICKING HERE.

Ellison’s office cited two rulings previously made by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding birthright citizenship. According to Ellison, birthright citizens would be considered “stateless with no clear citizenship in any country” if the order stood.

“Only hours ago, the President swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, then broke it almost as soon as he took it. I am using the power of my office and the law to join with other state attorneys general from coast to coast to quickly and clearly bring suit to stop this unprecedented, blatant breach of the Constitution by a President. For more than 125 years, the Supreme Court has clearly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to eliminate any doubt or confusion that anyone born in the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen. Duly passed federal laws that the President and his advisors are well aware of clearly spell this out as well. I look forward to the court putting a stop to this blatantly unconstitutional order as soon as possible.”

Keith Ellison, Attorney General for Minnesota

“I think that the president should take care to uphold the law of the land, and the law of the land is, in fact, birthright citizenship,” Ellison told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. 

“It’s an affront, it’s an insult, [it’s] a shame, it’s outside of our culture and our law, and I just, I believe we’re going to win,” Ellison added about the suit.

He also strongly believes this argument will make it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court – and in light of he and the other attorneys general losing the lawsuit, Ellison calls the expected impacts “devastating.”

“So many people who you and I know as being American, in every way that you can be an American, will suddenly not be Americans,” Ellison said. 

Another person confident that the executive order will not go into effect is Ben Casper, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota.

“People born in the United States are United States citizens, and that’s been settled law,” Casper said. “I don’t think will ever go into effect, but in the interim, it’s going to cause a great deal of fear and a great deal of division and a great deal of harm to a lot of people.”

Amid the recent news, community leaders explained a lot of immigrants are living in fear of the unknown.

Fartun Weli, Isuroon Founder and CEO, is a voice of reason while trying to make sense of what’s to come.

“We were getting calls [from immigrants] about, ‘I’m going to be deported,’” Weli said. “When someone is unstable, and they’re worried, the best thing we can do is show them how to be independent, show them stability, and show them support.”

Weli is doing her best to guide the Somali community with hope through uncertain times.

“How do you reconcile a refugee that has gone from their country through hunger, rape, and everything else and finally came to their final destination to rest, and now they’re dealing with the crisis of making them feel that they’re not welcome or they will be deported?” Weli said. 

On day one of Donald Trump’s presidency, he rolled back Biden’s immigration policies making everyone in the country illegally a priority for deportation.

The president also signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship.

“We’re ready. We’ve done this before,” Hanne Sandison, Advocates for Human Rights refugee and immigrant program director, said. “We have the tools at our disposal to fight and ensure that human rights are respected.”

Sandison works with immigrants seeking asylum.

“They’re afraid to drive. They’re afraid to go to school. They’re afraid to go to the police if something happens to them,” Sandison said. “People are afraid their court processes are going to be canceled or that they won’t be able to get their work permits.”

If you encounter U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Sandison explains it’s important to know your rights.

“Even if they knock on the door and say, ‘Open up, let us in, we’re police,’ you have the right to question that, to keep your door closed and to say, ‘Who are you? Show me who you are, show me proof of who you are and show me a warrant that is signed by a judge.’” Sandison said “That’s really important that you ask for a warrant signed by a judge, because they may have a document that says ‘warrant,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s a judicial warrant or a warrant signed by a judge.”

Sandison is urging immigrants to make sure the information they’re consuming online is accurate.

“Especially before you take any action based on the information you’re seeing online,” Sandison said.

For more guidance, contact The Advocates for Human Rights.

The ACLU Minnesota also has resources and information about knowing your rights.

Immigrant-based organizations like Isuroon are always taking donations to continue creating stability and healthy outcomes for the Somali community.