Shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong announced he plans to challenge the move as unconstitutional.
“This is a war on American families waged by a President with zero respect for our Constitution. We will sue imminently, and I have every confidence we will win,” Tong said in a statement Monday night. “The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says—if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop.”
Trump has said he wants to reinterpret the phrasing of the law so birthright citizenship is not automatically granted to children of undocumented parents. Specifically, the order seeks to bar departments or agencies from issuing or recognizing U.S. citizenship for children born to someone unlawfully present in the country, whose father wasn’t a lawful permanent resident at the time of the birth.
According to the order, the change also would apply to babies born “when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary” and the father was not a lawful permanent resident at the time of birth.
Tong said doing so would create chaos.
“What about the babies that are born? What status do they have?” Tong wondered. “Are they going to have no status? That [of] their parents’ status? Are they going to be effectively stateless, and what happens to their education, health care, housing?”
Reactions in faith and immigrant communities
As President Donald Trump addressed the nation with his plans to sign hundreds of Executive Orders, including measures targeting immigration enforcement, Father James Manship was giving a different kind of speech.
Manship delivered a church service to his congregation in Meriden, Conn. addressing Mark 2:18-22, which he connected to the idea that not every law is a moral law and that every right comes with a responsibility.
While he didn’t explicitly address the executive actions before his parish, Manship told Connecticut Public he’s inviting people to hope for the best and plan for the worst.
“We're encouraging families to make sure they get passports for their US-born children to prepare themselves and have discussions about if one or both of the parents were happened to be detained,” he said. “Do you have plans to care for your child? Who are the named guardians?”
Make the Road Connecticut, an immigrant advocacy group, is encouraging the same preparations. Executive Director Barbara Lopez said it’s unfortunate to see Trump’s plans unfolding.
“We feel like Trump's plans for mass deportation and/or mandatory or indefinite detention and his attempt to dismantle the legal immigration system,” Lopez said. “It's not just a moral [issue], it's also a humanitarian disaster waiting to happen,” she said.
While unfortunate, it’s not unexpected, she said. The organization has been working with families to prepare for his plans since Election Day, offering training so immigrants know their rights and resources so families can be prepared to respond if a family member is detained.
The guidance from Manship and Lopez comes just days after city officials in New Haven released a guide for newcomers. That guide includes details for immigrant families or mixed-status families to prepare in case family members are separated.
Helping families on the state level
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said although he can’t help individual families in his capacity as top lawyer for the state, he does have other ways he plans to help respond to the needs of residents affected by executive orders.
“I can't represent individuals, but I am trying to help in support efforts by pro bono organizations and non governmental organizations to support people in the community when appropriate and when my voice will help,” Tong said.
Tong told reporters on Monday afternoon the Trump administration is expected to take action in reducing the protections for immigrants, including undocumented people, and transgender people.
“I will speak, and I will speak loudly and forcefully to try to help people that are impacted. Impacted by what I believe will be, at times, an unlawful violation of our sovereignty as a state number one, and also just an unfair and unjust persecution of people who are just here, like my folks, trying to make a living and do better for themselves,” he said.
Tong said he and his fellow attorneys general are currently in talks to address issues that President Donald Trump is targeting with his executive orders.
“We have thought about and prepared for all the different ways that we think they're going to come at these issues. I can't say that we've covered it all, because, you know, the group in Washington is a pretty unpredictable bunch, and so they may come up with some creative new tack that we haven't anticipated. We're ready for that too,” Tong said.
Tong says the way his office would respond depends on how the Trump administration executes their plans. The executive orders signed Monday are just the first step.
