On the second day of President Donald Trump’s administration, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joined a coalition of 18 states, as well as the cities of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., in suing Trump to block an executive order.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Federal District Court in Massachusetts claims that the order violates the constitutional rights entitled to all children born in the United States.. 

“The White House executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship is flatly unconstitutional. The idea that a president could override the Constitution with the stroke of a pen is a flagrant assault on the rule of law and our constitutional republic,” Weiser stated in a news release.

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“The executive order cannot be allowed to stand, and I will fight to ensure that all who are born in the United States keep their right to fully and fairly be a part of American society as a citizen with all its benefits and privileges,” added Weiser.

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Consitution states that  “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” 

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Trump’s executive order declared that future children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants would no longer be granted citizenship. It also extends to children of mothers who are in the country legally but on a temporary status such as tourist or student visas.  

The White House order claims that the 14th Amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.” 

The order states that it will “apply only to persons who are born within the United States after 30 days from the date of this order.”

According to Weiser’s office, individuals stripped of their U.S. citizenship lose basic rights and are threatened with the risk of deportation. It claims the order would retract their eligibility for federal benefits, their ability to obtain a Social Security number and work lawfully as well as their right to vote, serve on juries and run for certain offices.

The lawsuit seeks to end the order and halt any actions that would be required to implement it. 

“Although the Supreme Court’s notorious Dred Scott decision denied birthright citizenship to the descendants of slaves, the Fourteenth Amendment plainly protects citizenship for children born in the country, honoring our national motto of e pluribus unum — out of many, we are one,” reads the news release from Weiser’s office. “Since adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Supreme Court has twice upheld birthright citizenship, regardless of the immigration status of the baby’s parents.”

The lawsuit claims that the order also “significantly harms the states” by stripping them of federal funding for programs they administer including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and foster care and adoption assistance programs. 

The other states that signed on the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the City and County of San Francisco. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the order not only unconstitutional but also “profoundly dangerous.”

The executive order was one of 46 presidential actions made by Trump on his first day in office, many of which took aim at immigration policy. 

Other orders targeting the immigration system included a national emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border, which allows Trump to deploy the military and open up funding for a wall among other things. Another order suspended refugee admissions that President Joe Biden had sought to rebuild during his four years in office. He also terminated other programs including the CBP One App that helped individuals seeking asylum at the border make appointments to enter the U.S. legally. 

Many of the other orders signed by Trump on Monday are expected to face legal challenges.