Trump's Migration Changes Face First Legal Challenge

WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (Bernama-dpa) - At the start of his new term in office, US President Donald Trump tested the limits of his power and immediately faced resistance, reported German news agency dpa. 

Several US states and civil rights organisations said on Tuesday they intend to legally prevent the abolition of birthright citizenship in the United States for children of people without residency status.

Trump ordered the change via presidential decree the previous day, one of dozens of decisions on his first day in office that marked a radical departure from the previous administration's policies.

"Presidents can't overrule the Constitution and centuries of precedent with a stroke of a pen," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin posted on the platform X.

In a longer statement posted online, Platkin said he was leading the efforts of 18 states, the District of Columbia, and the city of San Francisco. He described Trump's order as unlawful.

"President Trump’s attempt to unilaterally end birthright citizenship is a flagrant violation of our Constitution," Platkin's statement said. "For more than 150 years, our country has followed the same basic rule: Babies who are born in this country are American citizens."

The 14th amendment to the US constitution states that anyone born in the US a citizen of the country. However, Trump argues that this does not apply if the mother was unlawfully or only temporarily in the US. He refers to a clause in the amendment stating that it pertains to people subject to US jurisdiction.

-- BERNAMA-dpa