Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order Will Not Take Effect In Massachusetts, AG Confirms

President Donald Trump’s attempt to halt birthright citizenship for some babies born to immigrants will not take effect in Massachusetts, Attorney General Andrea Campbell said Friday, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling complicates the outlook in red states.

In a ruling on Friday, the nation’s highest court limited nationwide injunctions that for months had prevented Trump’s day-one birthright citizenship executive order from taking effect, and the high court stopped short of deciding whether the order itself runs afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

Instead, the court delayed Trump’s order from taking effect for another 30 days and returned cases challenging the policy to lower courts, according to the Associated Press. More legal action is expected in the coming weeks.

Campbell said “the executive order will not go into effect here in Massachusetts,” echoing a sentiment several other Democratic attorneys general shared on during a virtual press briefing.

Depending on when or whether justices address the underlying constitutionality question, the Democratic attorneys general and some legal observers warned that citizenship for newborns could become a patchwork system, with the changes blocked in states who challenged Trump and taking effect in those that did not.

“I believe within the next 30 days, we’re going to get more clarity and we’re going to prevail,” said Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. “But in 30 days, if that’s not the case and we still have uncertainty, if I’m born in Connecticut, yes, the injunction still applies to me. Birthright citizenship is still the law of the land in Connecticut. But what about in Pennsylvania? What about in Texas? What if a pregnant woman in Connecticut goes to Texas, goes to Pennsylvania, goes to Louisiana, goes to Utah and has the baby there? Then what happens?”