Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, alongside more than a dozen state AGs, filed an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship. (Getty Images)
Bird's amicus brief comes in response to 18 Democrat-led states who launched their own lawsuit, claiming the order is unconstitutional and "unprecedented."
"The President has no authority to rewrite or nullify a constitutional amendment or duly enacted statute. Nor is he empowered by any other source of law to limit who receives United States citizenship at birth," the lawsuit reads.
Attorneys general from California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine and others signed on to the suit, along with the city and county of San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration the same day he signed the order "on behalf of organizations with members whose babies born on U.S. soil will be denied citizenship under the order." The ACLU also claimed the order is unconstitutional and against congressional intent and Supreme Court precedent.
President Donald Trump, right, signs executive orders on stage at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Trump's order, titled the "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" states that "the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States" when the individual's parents are illegal immigrants living in the U.S. or if their presence is lawful but temporary. It was among the first orders he signed after taking office in early January.
"President Trump is restoring the meaning and value of American citizenship, and also making sure that if someone is breaking the law, they won't be rewarded for that by getting citizenship," Bird said. "And so it's following the Constitution and making sure that we're upholding our immigration laws."
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital's Haley-Chi-Sing contributed to this report.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/republican-state-ags-back-trump-birthright-citizenship-order-court-filing-taxpayers-hook