Washington sues to block Trump's birthright citizenship order
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Washington state is suing the Trump administration over the president's executive order to end birthright citizenship, with Arizona, Oregon, and Illinois joining the lawsuit.
Why it matters: The legal challenge, filed Tuesday by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, seeks to protect citizenship rights for people born in the United States to undocumented parents or to parents with temporary visas.
Zoom in: Brown, a Democrat, said Washington's complaint is similar but separate from another filed by 18 states to block President Trump's birthright citizenship order.
- Both lawsuits argue the order violates the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and federal immigration law.
- "What's not in the constitution is anything saying the president has the authority to decide who is granted citizenship," Brown said at a press conference Tuesday.
Between the lines: Brown said he decided to file a separate lawsuit because Washington has the potential to be uniquely harmed by Trump's order.
- He cited the risks of losing federal funding and denying newly born Washingtonians U.S. citizenship — concerns also raised in the 18-state lawsuit.
The other side: "These lawsuits are nothing more than an extension of the Left's resistance — and the Trump Administration is ready to face them in court," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields told Axios Tuesday.
Catch up quick: Also on Monday, Trump declared an emergency at the southern border, reinstated the "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers and labeled drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
Between the lines: By filing the lawsuit one day after Trump's inauguration, Brown reinforces Washington's reputation for opposing the president's policies.
- At the start of Trump's first term in 2017, Washington led a lawsuit that stopped the first version of the president's travel ban.
State of play: Even in sanctuary cities and states like Seattle and Washington, where laws like the Keep Washington Working Act limit local police involvement in immigration enforcement, the federal government retains ultimate immigration authority, restricting local protections for undocumented individuals.
- State officials estimate there are about 1.1 million people of Latino origin living in Washington and more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants in the state.
What they're saying: Fear of deportations, family separations and rising anti-immigrant sentiment are at the forefront for many Latino families in Washington right now, said Jaime Méndez and Diana Oliveras, who co-founded Se Habla Media, which provides a Spanish-language newscast in the Seattle area.
- "The uncertainty about what is going to happen is weighing heavily on people," Méndez, a longtime former anchor for Univision in Seattle, told Axios in a Zoom call. "For many in our community, it's not just about themselves — it's about their families. Fathers, brothers, friends, neighbors, and coworkers are all at risk."
What's next: Many Latino families are preparing safety plans and seeking to stay "under the radar," Méndez said.
- The Northwest Immigrant Rights Project is helping represent people who are navigating the U.S. immigration process and holding workshops around the state to help inform people of their rights, Matt Adams, the organization's legal director, told Axios.