The Department of Justice claims Attorney General Kris Mayes and other state prosecutors have no right to file a challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order to abolish birthright citizenship.
In the 60-page filing, the acting assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s civil rights division said only people who are somehow harmed by an action have the right to bring a challenge to federal court.
The attorneys general claim states will have to absorb costs for health and administrative services because those affected by the order would be ineligible for federal benefits.
The DOJ says that claim falls short, as there is nothing requiring states to do so.
Mayes and other attorneys general say the executive order is fundamentally unconstitutional, going against the 14th Amendment.
The federal judge from Washington involved in the case agreed and paused the order.