A group of Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, led by chair Jim Jordan of Ohio, are part of an amicus brief supporting President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee for the Western District of Washington state, on Jan. 23 temporary blocked Trump's order following one of eight lawsuits filed by 22 Democrat state attorneys general and a number of immigrant rights groups across the country.
The lawsuits argue the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship for people born and naturalized in the U.S., although the amendment does state "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," and it likely will be up to the courts to decide that issue, unless Congress codifies Trump's order.
Trump's order maintains children of noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the U.S., and he ordered federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for children who don't have at least one parent who is a citizen.
"The touchstone for birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment is allegiance to the United States, rather than merely being subject to its laws or some subset thereof," the lawmakers' brief stated, The Hill reported Monday.
The lawmakers' brief was filed in Coughenour's court in Seattle, where four Democrat-led states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington — filed a lawsuit. Coughenour will hold a hearing Thursday, according to The Hill.
The coalition includes 18 of the committee's 25 Republicans: Jordan, and Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona; Chip Roy, Brandon Gill, Wesley Hunt, Troy Nehls, and Lance Gooden of Texas; Victoria Spartz of Indiana; Mark Harris and Brad Knott of North Carolina; Scott Fitzgerald and Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin; Robert Onder of Missouri; Harriet M. Hageman of Wyoming; Tom McClintock of California; Ben Cline of Virginia; Russell Fry of South Carolina; and Michael Baumgartner of Washington.
The lawmakers' attorneys include the America First Legal Foundation, whose co-founder, Stephen Miller, is Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy. The attorneys offered a 23-page history they claim supports the legality of Trump's order, according to The Hill. The theory hinges on language in the 14th Amendment that an individual must not just be born on U.S. soil but also be "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" to receive birthright citizenship.
"That was intentional," the brief stated. "And it invoked a term of art with a nuanced history and understanding, as explained above. But Plaintiffs never provide an answer for why the drafters did not use far simpler language if they meant only to invoke the simple concept of being subject to U.S. law."