"The President's executive order redefining birthright citizenship violates our Constitution, federal statutes, and the rule that has governed our Nation for more than 150 years," the attorneys general said in the statement, released by Tong's office in Hartford.
The coalition said it was "proud to lead the fight against this unlawful order, and grateful for the injunctions we obtained that prevented this action from ever taking effect." The group added that it is "optimistic the U.S. Supreme Court will agree with every judge to consider this executive order on the merits and hold that it violates this fundamental constitutional right."
According to the release, Trump issued the executive order on his first day in office in 2025 to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to immigrant parents. Tong's office said the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Groups of states, including Connecticut, filed challenges in the Western District of Washington and the District of Massachusetts. Both suits "repeatedly obtain[ed] nationwide preliminary injunctions that blocked this Executive Order from ever taking effect," the release said.
The Supreme Court is now considering the order in a challenge brought by a class of affected children, captioned Barbara v. Trump in the release. The release said that if the order is allowed to stand, "thousands of babies born each year who otherwise would have been citizens will no longer enjoy the privileges and benefits of citizenship."
The release noted that Congress codified birthright citizenship into law in 1940 and again in 1952, and that the Supreme Court "has repeatedly upheld birthright citizenship, regardless of the immigration status of the baby's parents."
Joining the statement were the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.