Civil rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit in New Hampshire on Tuesday seeking to block President Donald Trump from enforcing new executive orders that restrict birthright citizenship, escalating a legal battle months after the Supreme Court struck down his first attempt.
The American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus and Democracy Defenders Fund petitioned a judge in Concord to halt the measures, arguing they violate the 14th Amendment. The orders, signed on 6 August, direct federal agencies to withhold citizenship documents from children of diplomatic staff, alleged terrorist group members, those involved in commercial birth arrangements, and certain individuals born in US territories.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in June that Trump's original order, issued at the start of his second term, violated the Constitution. Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented, rejecting the notion that the administration's approach was unconstitutional. The new lawsuit comes as Trump faces multiple legal challenges across policy areas, including separate defeats at the Supreme Court over tariffs and an attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.