A judge blocked Trump’s executive order eliminating birthright citizenship. New Jersey immigrants are still fearful

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A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship for children, regardless of the status of their parents, ruling it is “blatantly unconstitutional.”

The decision follows a lawsuit filed this week by New Jersey, 17 other states, Washington, D.C. and the city of San Francisco, seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the executive order from taking effect because it violated the Constitution.

Attorneys General in other states also filed similar lawsuits.

During a news conference on Tuesday, N.J. Attorney General Matt Platkin said, “The 14th Amendment and the subsequent Supreme Court precedents that followed are crystal clear, all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States.”

Platkin emphasized that if the executive order is implemented, it would mark the first time in U.S. history that a class of American-born children faces threats to their health and well-being directly from their own government.

“This is an extreme and unprecedented act, and this executive order is an assault on the rule of law, it attacks a right that is core to our nation’s earliest days,” he said.

Platkin said, “Presidents in this country have broad powers, but they are not kings, they do not have the power to unilaterally re-write the constitution, they do not have the power to unilaterally disregard our laws.”

Cristian Moreno-Rodriguez, the director of El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City, said many immigrants in the region remain nervous.

“People are hesitant right now to visit their local bodega, their local grocery mini market, everyone is sort of tensing up in terms of when the first ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids are going to happen here in our part of South Jersey,” he said.

He said there is a firm belief that the 14th Amendment upholds the right of birthright citizenship, yet many remain fearful.

“I think it’s sort of a wakeup call for some of our community members, that they didn’t anticipate things happening on day one, but that was the reality all along,” said Moreno-Rodriguez.

Amol Sinha, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, said he is very confident that the president does not have the right to end birthright citizenship.

He noted that the national ACLU had also filed a lawsuit to stop the executive order from taking effect.

“The president cannot amend the constitution on his own, an executive order does not undermine a constitutional right, we are confident we are going to prevail,” he said.

Sara Cullinane is the director of Make the Road New Jersey, an organization that works to build the power of immigrant and working-class communities.

She believes the president is trying to create a permanent second class in the United States, a permanent underclass.

“It is outrageous that a president would step in and attempt to undermine so many of the values that we hold dear,” she said.

Cullinane noted that New Jersey, like many states, is a melting pot that embraces its rich immigrant history.

She said, “If we were to do away with birthright citizenship, we would be undermining the very notions of who we are as a country.”

Platkin said he remembers going to Ellis Island as a child, visiting the location where his grandparents arrived decades ago, and he never imagined a few generations later, he would be defending the right of immigrants to have the American experience.

He stressed when we talk about immigrant communities, we must remember who they are.

“They’re not some people far away who we can demonize, they are all of us, they are who we are as a nation,” he said.

Sinha said Garden State residents will not be intimidated by authoritarianism, threats or fear.

He stressed, “What we’re going to do is stand up for our values, defend against the assaults that we’re going to experience, and withstand and win.”

Moreno-Rodriguez said the community is organizing.

“We’re launching rapid response ICE watch teams, we’re launching a series of know your rights community workshops, everyone is worried,” he said. “We’re taking this as an opportunity to empower our community and not go back into the shadows and hide.”

Platkin said as Attorney General, his message to those who may be afraid is simple: “I’m never going to back down from a fight when it means we’re standing up for the rule of law.”

After the filing of the lawsuit was announced, White House deputy press secretary Harrison Fields said, “Radical Leftists can either choose to swim against the tide and reject the overwhelming will of the people, or they can get on board and work with President Trump.”

States that joined New Jersey in filing the lawsuit include California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia and the City of San Francisco.