LOS ANGELES – Please attribute the following statement on the Trump administration’s attempt to dismantle birthright citizenship, guaranteed under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund) President and General Counsel Thomas A. Saenz:
“On Monday, Donald Trump purported, by executive order, to change the law and Constitution with respect to citizenship of those born in the United States 30 days or more following the order. But no president has the authority to unilaterally alter the Constitution of the United States or its well-established interpretation by the Supreme Court, particularly in the area of individual rights. The executive order attempts to arrogate power that Trump simply does not have. By rights, the executive order should simply be ignored. In practical terms, the executive order may not be implementable because of the chaos that would attend the long-term creation of a class of stateless persons in this country.
“Unfortunately, however, some federal agencies may attempt to implement the executive order in four weeks. Doing so would place these agencies in violation of the very Constitution their leaders have all sworn to uphold and will likely subject them to litigation that they will lose.
“MALDEF invites anyone who experiences an attempt, at any level of government, to implement the executive order to contact us. At the same time, MALDEF will be monitoring federal agencies for regulations, rules, orders, or other directives seeking to implement the executive order, and will undertake legal action where necessary to prevent such planned implementation.
“This executive order is lawless in at least two respects — arrogating presidential power that does not exist, and seeking to undermine the well-established interpretation by the Supreme Court of rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.”