IMPORTANT: The government is currently required to recognize the U.S. citizenship of all babies born in the United States! Thanks to ASAP members, a court has recognized a class of babies who could have been impacted by the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order – and protected their citizenship.
What courts have required all babies in the United States to be recognized as U.S. citizens?
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order that tried to restrict birthright citizenship. Thankfully, the Executive Order is now being blocked by multiple court orders called “injunctions.” Here are some of the key injunctions that are currently in place:
ASAP’s lawsuit is now a class action and protects all babies: The judge in ASAP’s lawsuit said that all babies born in the United States must be recognized as U.S. citizens! The judge certified a class of babies who have been born or will be born in the U.S. after February 19, 2025. All babies who would be affected by the Executive Order are automatically included in the class and protected by the injunction. This injunction replaces the previous injunction, which was more limited and only applied to ASAP and CASA members.
Class action in New Hampshire protects all babies: A judge in a different case in New Hampshire also said that all babies born in the United States must be recognized as U.S. citizens. This decision came in a class action lawsuit, and the court protected all babies by automatically including them in a “provisional class.”
States’ lawsuit protects all babies: A court has said that all babies born in the United States must be recognized as U.S. citizens – no matter what U.S. state they are born in. This decision came from a lawsuit brought by the states of Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington.
Second states’ lawsuit also protects all babies: Another court has also said that all babies born in the United States must be recognized as U.S. citizens – no matter what U.S. state they are born in. This decision came from a lawsuit brought by the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, D.C, and Wisconsin.
Each of these injunctions could change in the future, because the lawsuits are ongoing. However, it is possible to be protected by more than one injunction at the same time. Each lawsuit will continue to fight for all babies born in the U.S. to be recognized as U.S. citizens – as is required by the U.S. Constitution.
Who could be affected by the Executive Order if it ever becomes the law?
No children are currently affected by the Executive Order because multiple court injunctions are blocking the order. However, if the order ever goes into effect, the government says that only certain children born in the U.S. would still become U.S. citizens at birth. Citizenship would depend on the parents’ immigration status—and the rules would be different for mothers and fathers.
According to a government document published on July 25, the following children would still become U.S. citizens at birth, even if the Executive Order was allowed to go into effect:
Children with a father who is a:
U.S. citizen,
U.S. national, or
Lawful Permanent Resident
Children with a mother who is a:
U.S. citizen,
U.S. national,
Lawful Permanent Resident,
Asylee (meaning someone who has won asylum),
Refugee,
Conditional permanent resident, or
Native American born in Canada who entered the U.S. under a specific law
If one parent has a status listed above, their child’s U.S. citizenship would be recognized. In that case, the other parents’ status would not matter. For example, if a mother is an asylee, it does not matter what status the father has – their child will be recognized as a citizen.
The government appears to say that other children would not become U.S. citizens at birth, if courts allowed the order to go into effect. This would include children if both parents have immigration statuses not listed above, such as withholding of removal, TPS, parole, a student visa, a U visa, a T visa, DACA, or an H1B or other work visa.
Again, multiple courts have blocked the Executive Order from going into effect, so this information is only hypothetical. And we continue to believe that the Constitution says that children born in the U.S. should become U.S. citizens at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Case Background:
On January 21, 2025, ASAP members filed a lawsuit called CASA v. Trump against the U.S. government to protect the right of all children born in the United States to become U.S. citizens. As one member said, “When a child is born here, this country becomes their future, their hope, and their opportunity.”
On February 5, 2025, the judge in the District of Maryland issued a preliminary injunction to block the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order from going into effect – for ASAP members and all immigrants in the United States. ASAP members’ lawsuit was the first to win a preliminary injunction against the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order. The judge explained that she was blocking the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order nationwide because so many pregnant ASAP members spoke out, and because ASAP members live in every state.
The Supreme Court limited this injunction on June 27, and the same day, ASAP and CASA filed a class action in the District of Maryland and asked the court for a new injunction protecting all babies. On August 7, the judge certified the class and issued a new injunction protecting all babies throughout the U.S.! This was the first lawsuit to have a full class certified.
Even though the Supreme Court limited this injunction on June 27, the Supreme Court could still decide that the Executive Order violates the U.S. constitution. The Supreme Court will probably make a decision about whether the Executive Order is illegal in 2026. ASAP believes that the Executive Order clearly violates the U.S. Constitution, and every court to address this so far has agreed the Executive Order is unconstitutional. We will continue to fight our lawsuit and seek to prevent the Executive Order from impacting any children.
Lawsuit Documents and Timeline:
January 20, 2025: President Trump signed an Executive Order that tries to restrict birthright citizenship
January 21, 2025: Press Release
January 21, 2025: Lawsuit Complaint and Motion for a Preliminary Injunction
February 5, 2025: Hearing on the Motion for a Preliminary Injunction
February 5, 2025: The judge granted ASAP member’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction! This was the first preliminary injunction blocking the Executive Order.
February 5, 2025: Press Release
February 28, 2025: The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request to limit the Preliminary Injunction.
March 13, 2025: The government asked the Supreme Court to limit the Preliminary Injunction.
April 4, 2025: ASAP opposed the government’s request in the Supreme Court.
May 15, 2025: The Supreme Court heard oral argument.
June 27, 2025: The Supreme Court issued an opinion about the Preliminary Injunction.
June 27, 2025: Press Release
June 27, 2025: ASAP filed an Amended Complaint, Motion for Class Certification, and Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction.
July 10, 2025: In a different case, a judge in New Hampshire recognized a “provisional” class of all babies who would be impacted by the Executive Order and required the government to recognize all of these babies as U.S. citizens.
July 23, 2025: In a different case brought by the states of Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals required the government to recognize babies born in any U.S. state as U.S. citizens.
July 25, 2025: In a different case brought by many U.S. states, a judge in Massachusetts required the government to recognize babies born in any U.S. state as U.S. citizens. This lawsuit was filed by the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington D.C, and Wisconsin.
July 25, 2025: The government started to publish plans, recognizing that the Executive Order is blocked by multiple courts, and providing new details about how it would implement the Executive Order if it were allowed to by the courts in the future. You can find some of these plans here: Department of Homeland Security, Social Security Administration.
August 7, 2025: The judge in ASAP’s case granted our motion for class certification and granted our motion for a preliminary injunction! This new injunction protects all babies born in the U.S. – and replaces the previous injunction that was limited to ASAP and CASA members. ASAP’s case is the first case to receive full class certification.
August 8, 2025: Press Release
What did the U.S. government do on January 20?
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order that tried to restrict birthright citizenship. The order said that, starting on February 19, some babies born in the United States to immigrant parents should not become U.S. citizens. However, this order is currently not in effect due to court decisions.
How are ASAP members fighting back?
On January 21, 2025, ASAP filed a lawsuit against the government in federal court.
In December 2024, we asked ASAP members whether we should file a lawsuit to protect birthright citizenship. Thousands of members responded, and over 99% voted yes. Since then, thousands of members have shared information to support the lawsuit, and explained why birthright citizenship is important to them. Dozens of pregnant members have also shared their stories for the lawsuit.
We are so grateful to every ASAP member who has participated so far. ASAP members, members of CASA (another nonprofit organization), and 5 mothers are the “plaintiffs” in the lawsuit. The lawyers on the case are ASAP, CASA, and a third group, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University.
ASAP members have secured several key wins as a result of their fight. For example, ASAP members’ lawsuit was the first to secure a nationwide injunction blocking the Executive Order. And, after the Supreme Court limited the use of nationwide injunctions, ASAP members’ lawsuit became the first to secure a fully-certified class of all babies who would be impacted, along with a new injunction protecting the U.S. citizenship of these babies.
Why is birthright citizenship protected by the U.S. Constitution?
From the beginning, the United States had a fundamental principle of giving U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States. However, this principle was not applied equally, and Black people were deprived of this right. More than 150 years ago, Black people worked together to end slavery in the United States and secure a more equal right to U.S. citizenship. As a result, the 14th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution.
But after the 14th Amendment was passed, the law was still not applied equally. More than 100 years ago, Chinese communities in the U.S. worked together to defend this right for the children of immigrants – winning a landmark Supreme Court decision called Wong Kim Ark.
The 14th amendment says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Are there other lawsuits to protect birthright citizenship?
Yes. ASAP is not the only group that filed a lawsuit. Other groups have also filed lawsuits to try to stop the birthright citizenship law from changing.
We are proud to say that the lawsuit brought by ASAP members was the first to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order from going into effect!
ASAP filed our own lawsuit because members voted to do so and because we know how important it is to defend the rights of asylum seekers specifically. We also believe that asylum seekers deserve to receive clear and accurate information about whether the order applies to them, and we will prioritize this in our lawsuit.
Eventually, the issue could be decided for multiple lawsuits at once by the U.S. Supreme Court.
ASAP aims to provide factual information about current immigration laws. This information is not legal advice.