LIVE LIVE | 22 US states sue to stop Trumps Birthright Citizenship order
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US President Donald Trump. Image: AP/PTI

LIVE | 22 US states sue to stop Trump's Birthright Citizenship order

Democratic attorneys general, immigrant rights advocates say presidents have broad authority, but are not kings; ready to face courts, says White House


Attorneys general from 22 American states have sued to block US President Donald Trump's move to end a century-old immigration practice known as Birthright Citizenship guaranteeing that US-born children are citizens regardless of their parents' status.

Trump's roughly 700-word executive order, issued late Monday, amounts to a fulfilment of something he's talked about during the presidential campaign. But whether it succeeds is far from certain amid what is likely to be a lengthy legal battle over the President's immigration policies and a constitutional right to citizenship.

The Democratic attorneys general and immigrant rights advocates say the question of birthright citizenship is settled law and that while presidents have broad authority, they are not kings. "The President cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.

The White House said it's ready to face the states in court and called the lawsuits "nothing more than an extension of the Left's resistance".

Rapid changes

Trump has continued to make rapid changes to the government order, signing a bevy of executive orders and firing top officials at will. He moved quickly to remake the Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday (January 21), firing the heads of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Coast Guard before their terms were up, and eliminated all the members of a key aviation security advisory group.

His administration also threw out policies limiting where migrants can be arrested so that officers enforcing immigration laws can now make those arrests at sensitive locations such as schools and churches too.

Also read:

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Trump 2.0 | Visa nightmares haunt young Indians chasing American Dream

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Live Updates

  • 22 Jan 2025 8:28 PM IST

    Trump suspends Refugee Settlement Programme

    Refugees who had been approved to travel to the United States before a January 27 deadline suspending America's refugee resettlement program have had their travel plans cancelled by the Trump administration, reports AP.

    Thousands of refugees are now stranded at various locations around the globe.

    The suspension was in an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Monday. It left open the possibility that people who had undergone the lengthy process to be approved as refugees and permitted to come to the US, and had flights booked before that deadline, might still be able to get in under the wire.

    But in an email reviewed Wednesday by The Associated Press, the US agency overseeing refugee processing and arrival told staff and stakeholders that “refugee arrival to the United States have been suspended until further notice”.

  • 22 Jan 2025 5:28 PM IST

    China, US partners moving closer as Trump returns to White House

    China's relations are starting to improve with Japan, India and other countries that former US President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House.

    The change of leadership in Washington on Monday could be an opportunity for China, which has long railed against Biden's strategy of building partnerships with “like-minded countries” aimed at countering its growing influence.

    Biden reinvigorated a grouping known as the Quad — the United States, India, Japan and Australia. China's relations with all three of those US partners are improving, as are its ties with Britain. The durability of Biden's legacy is now in question. During his first term, Trump didn't hesitate to challenge traditional US partners.

    “It is possible that Trump may drift away from US allies, making them pay more attention to China's role and in fact it has provided a chance for China's diplomacy,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai.

    “I think we should grasp the chance.” But US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said that Trump “has a record of rallying the world toward a more competitive stance with China”.

    Trump agreed to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy that Japan introduced during his first term and backed excluding Chinese companies from telecom networks in the US and many of its partners.

    And on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio — hours after he was sworn in — met with the foreign ministers of Australia, India and Japan in Washington, a move that suggested engaging the Quad countries and countering China's influence will remain a priority for Trump.

    China's fence-mending limits Beijing's rapprochement with the UK and Japan is in its early stages, and major differences remain that limit and could derail it.

    India turned the page with China on a bitter border dispute last October, but protested when Beijing created two new counties in an area claimed by both nations.

    Still, new leaders in Australia, the UK and Japan have shown a desire to warm relations with China, the world's largest manufacturer and a source of strategic minerals. The government in Beijing has reciprocated in part because it wants foreign investment to help revive its economy, which could be set back if Trump follows through on a threat to impose higher tariffs.


  • 22 Jan 2025 5:20 PM IST

    Trump backs H-1B visa, says US needs ‘competent people’

    In a relief to several immigrants, US President Donald Trump has said that he liked “both sides of the argument” on the H-1B visa debate but wanted “very competent people coming to our country”.

    "I like both sides of the argument, but I also like very competent people coming into our country, even if that involves them training and helping other people that may not have the qualifications they do," he said addressing a press conference on Tuesday.

    The H-1B visa programme, which allows qualified tech professionals to come to the US, has divided Trump supporters.

    While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has supported it, others say Americans are losing jobs because of it.

    On Tuesday, Trump said: “We want competent people coming into our country. And H-1B, I know the programme very well. I use the programme."

    “Wine experts, even waiters, high-quality waiters – you've got to get the best people. We have to have quality people coming in. Now by doing that, we're expanding businesses and that takes care of everybody. So, I'm sort of on both sides of the argument, but what I really do feel is that we have to let really competent people, great people, come into our country. And we do that through the H-1B programme," he added.

  • 22 Jan 2025 5:00 PM IST

    Donald Trump announces Stargate, $500-bn AI project

    US President Donald Trump has unveiled a groundbreaking $500 billion initiative called Stargate to bolster AI infrastructure in the United States. The project, in collaboration with Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI, aims to construct massive data centers, generate over 100,000 jobs, and rapidly advance America's AI capabilities.

  • 22 Jan 2025 1:02 PM IST

    Trump govt shuts down White House Spanish-language page, social media

    Within hours of President Donald Trump's inauguration, the new administration took down the Spanish-language version of the official White House website.

    The site — currently https://www.whitehouse.gov/es/ — now gives users an “Error 404” message. It also included a “Go Home” button that directed viewers to a page featuring a video montage of Trump in his first term and on the campaign trail. The button was later updated to read “Go To Home Page”.

    Hispanic advocacy groups and others expressed confusion at the abrupt change and frustration at what some called the administration's lack of efforts to maintain communication with the Latino community, which helped propel him to the presidency.

    The Spanish profile of the White House' X, @LaCasaBlanca and the government page on reproductive freedom also were disbanded. Meanwhile, the Spanish versions of other government agencies such as the Department of Labor, Justice and Agriculture remained available for users on Tuesday.

    Asked about the changes, White House principal deputy press secretary Harrison Fields responded Tuesday that the administration is “committed to bringing back online the Spanish translation section of the website.”

    “It's day two. We are in the process of developing, editing and tweaking the White House website. As part of this ongoing work, some of the archived content on the website went dormant. We are committed to reloading that content in a short timeline," he said without elaborating.

    Trump removed the Spanish version of the page in 2017. At that time, White House officials said they would reinstate it. President Joe Biden reinstated the page in 2021.

  • 22 Jan 2025 1:00 PM IST

    Immigrant families worried about sending kids to school

    As President Donald Trump cracks down on immigrants in the US illegally, some families are wondering if it is safe to send their children to school.

    In many districts, educators have sought to reassure immigrant parents that schools are safe places for their kids, despite the president's campaign pledge to carry out mass deportations.

    But fears intensified for some when the Trump administration announced Tuesday it would allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests at schools, churches and hospitals, ending a decades-old policy.

    Immigrants across the country have been anxious about Trump's pledge to deport millions of people. While fears of raids did not come to pass on the administration's first day, rapid changes on immigration policy have left many confused and uncertain about their future.

    An estimated 733,000 school-aged children are in the US illegally, according to the Migration Policy Institute. Many more have US citizenship but have parents who are in the country illegally.

    A resolution passed by Chicago Public Schools' Board of Education in November said schools would not assist ICE in enforcing immigration law. Agents would not be allowed into schools without a criminal warrant, it said. And New York City principals last month were reminded by the district of policies including one against collecting information on a student's immigration status.

    That's not the case everywhere. Many districts have not offered any reassurances for immigrant families.

  • 22 Jan 2025 10:11 AM IST

    Indian-American lawmakers oppose executive order on birthright citizenship

    Indian-American lawmakers have opposed the executive order by US President Donald Trump on changes in birthright citizenship, a move likely to hit not only illegal immigrants from around the world but also students and professionals from India.

    Congressman Ro Khanna said changes in birthright citizenship as done through the executive order would impact newborn babies of not only illegal and undocumented immigrants but also those staying in this country legally like on H-1B visas.

    “No matter what Donald Trump says or does, birthright citizenship has and will be the law of the land. I will fight to protect it at all costs,” Indian American Congressman Shri Thanedar said.

    Indian American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal described it as unconstitutional. “Plain and simple this is unconstitutional and cannot be done with the stroke of a pen. If enacted, it would make a mockery of our country’s laws and the precedents set in the Constitution,” she said.

    A coalition of immigration rights groups has challenged this in court and said that this is unconstitutional.

    As per the executive order, the US would not give automatic citizenship to newborn babies after February 19, 2025, if one of the parents is not a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.

    Also, attorneys general from 22 states sued President Trump in two federal district courts on Tuesday to block the executive order that refuses to recognise the US-born children of unauthorised immigrants as citizens, the New York Times reported.

    The states request immediate relief to prevent the President’s Order from taking effect through both a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction.

    Ajay Bhutoria, Biden White House Commissioner and Deputy National Finance Chair for the Democratic Party, in a statement, said, the 14th Amendment is not up for negotiation. “This executive order is not only unconstitutional but also undermines the values of equality and justice that define America," he said.

  • 22 Jan 2025 9:56 AM IST

    Rubio meets Jaishankar

    At his maiden meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar, newly-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed Trump administration's desire to advance economic ties with India, and address concerns related to irregular migration, a spokesperson for the top US diplomat said on Tuesday.

    Rubio, 53, opted to have his first bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart, underlining the importance the Trump administration attaches to strengthening ties with India.

    Rubio “emphasised the Trump administration’s desire to work with India to advance economic ties and address concerns related to irregular migration”, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout after the meeting.

    Rubio also kicked off Trump’s foreign policy engagements with a Quad ministerial meeting.

    (Read full story here)

  • 22 Jan 2025 9:38 AM IST

    ‘Trump declared war’: Trudeau says Canada will respond to US tariffs

    Canada's outgoing prime minister and the leader of the country's oil rich province of Alberta are both confident that Canada can avoid the 25 per cent tariff US President Donald Trump says he will impose on February 1.

    Justin Trudeau and Danielle Smith will argue that Canada is the energy super power that has the oil and critical minerals that America needs to feed what Trump vows will be a "booming" US economy.

    But Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, the manufacturing and automobile hub of Canada, said a trade war is 100 per cent coming. Trump "declared an economic war on Canada", Ford said in an interview with AP.

    "And we are going to use every tool in our tool box to defend our economy." Trudeau said Canada will retaliate if needed, but noted that Canada has been here before during the first Trump presidency when they successfully renegotiated the free trade deal.

    Ford said as soon as Trump applies tariffs, he will instruct Ontario's liquor control board to pull all American-made alcohol from the shelves.

    "We are the largest purchaser of alcohol in the world. And I'm going to encourage all the premiers to do the exact same," Ford said, adding that there will be a dollar-for-dollar tariff retaliation on American goods entering Canada.

    "We are going to target the Republican held areas as well. They are going to feel the pain. Canadians are going to feel the pain, but Americans will feel the pain as well," he said.

    "A message to the countries around the world: if he wants to use Canada as an example, you are up next. He's coming after you as well."

    Trump pledged in his inaugural address that tariffs would be coming in a speech in which he promised a golden era for America. For him, the tariffs are all about stopping unauthorised migration and the flow of any illicit drugs.

  • 22 Jan 2025 9:34 AM IST

    Trump announces $500-billion AI initiative

    US President Donald Trump announced a USD 500 billion investment in AI infrastructure through a new company, which is being created in partnership with Oracle, SoftBank and Open AI.

    The venture, called Stargate, adds to tech companies' significant investments in US data centres, huge buildings full of servers that provide computing power. The three companies plan to contribute funds to the venture, which will be open to other investors and start with 10 data centres already under construction in Texas.

    “That's a massive group of talent and money. Together, these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate,” Trump announced on Tuesday at a White House news conference along with Oracle Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son and Open AI CEO Sam Altman.

    “So, put that name down in your books because I think you're going to hear a lot about it in the future, a new American company that will invest USD 500 billion at least in AI infrastructure in the United States and very, very quickly, moving very rapidly, creating over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately,” said Trump who was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20.

    “This is the beginning of the golden age. We wouldn't have decided unless you won. And yesterday, we agreed, we signed to make this happen,” SoftBank CEO said, adding that his company would immediately start deploying USD100 billion, with a goal of making US500 billion, within the next four years.

    Describing this as the most important project of this era, Altman said this will be an exciting project. “I think we'll be able to do all of the wonderful things these guys talked about. But the fact that we get to do this in the United States is, I think, wonderful,” he said.

    Trump said before the end of his first full business day in Washington in the White House, he has already secured nearly USD 3 trillion of new investments in the United States and probably that's going to be USD 6 trillion or USD 7 trillion by the end of the week.

    “Tremendous amounts of money are coming in for many things other than even AI. AI seems to be very hot,” he said.

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