Mi Familia Vota: A national organization of Latino Democratic voters in the United States, cares about building Latino power and voices to advance policies that promote the health, safety, and prosperity of Latino communities across the country.
The arrival of Donald Trump as president of the United States has caused concern due to the series of executive orders that severely restrict legal immigration and militarize the border. In light of this, Héctor Sánchez Barba of the organization Mi Familia Vota has expressed that it is an attack on the foundations of the nation and its values.
My Family Votes, is a national organization of Democratic Latino voters in the United States, concerned with building Latino power and voices to advance policies that promote the health, safety, and prosperity of Latino communities across the country.
The president of the organization, Héctor Sánchez Barba, has issued a statement expressing his concern about the changes in immigration policy.
“Our country is at its best when we are able to harness the power of those who come here to help build a better, more equitable society for all. Our country’s uniqueness lies in its ability to embrace anyone who seeks an opportunity to work and become a vital part of our society.”
He also claims that Trump's anti-immigrant agenda is not only an attack on immigrants, it is an attack on the foundations of the nation and its values, because Trump wants people to believe that immigrants are bad for the country and that they contribute nothing to the United States, but this is a false narrative.
Hector Sanchez said the executive orders he recently signed will hurt families, the economy, and cause people to live in fear, “We have seen this before, children torn from their parents’ arms and locked in cages. Let’s be clear: these executive orders will extend to millions of people regardless of their immigration status.”
On the issue of revoking birthright citizenship, the statement said that this unconstitutional act will tear families apart and change the country forever if allowed to be implemented.
Trump's speech shows a migrant community that contributes nothing, however, in the statement from the president of Mi Familia Vota, he reported that $35 billion in taxes have been paid by undocumented households.
“We need these contributions, and we must honor the humanity of our immigrant family. That is why we will fight these attacks on our community with everything we have, organizing, mobilizing, and building the political power necessary to hold accountable those behind and supporting these acts of hate. We are on the front lines because we believe in a democracy that works for everyone, not just a privileged few,” Sánchez concluded.
Anti-mining law, on the same day that the Salvadoran metal mining law was approved, December 23, 2024, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) of the United States published an article warning of environmental threats to the Central American country. Photo: Cuenta X @ysuca91siete
We knew the importance of international solidarity
and its need,
But we knew that the guarantee of our struggle
It was in our own strength
Roque Dalton, “The dead of Vietnam speak”
By Samuel Cortés Hamdan
Nayib Bukele's controversial administration in El Salvador has reopened another front of social dispute, this time over the reactivation of metal mining.
In December 2024, the Legislative Assembly — which has also had its tense relations with the president, even once emboldened to enter the premises accompanied by the military — advanced the metal mining law, which reverses a 2017 ban.
The day before, Bukele called the refusal to exploit Salvadoran gold absurd and asserted that “studies carried out in only 41% of the potential area” found 50 million ounces of gold in Salvadoran soil, which could translate into more than 131 billion dollars, 3.8% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
With 57 of 60 possible votes, the government approved the exploitation of Salvadoran gold by the end of 2024, with the argument that economic development will be achieved and jobs will be created.
El Salvador, defending its parliamentary power in the corresponding information note, “is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, one of the richest areas in mineral resources thanks to its volcanic activity: there are deposits of lithium, cobalt, nickel, which are used to make renewable energy storage batteries.”
Environmental, human rights and violence threats
On the same day that the Salvadoran metal mining law was approved, December 23, 2024, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) of the United States published an article warning of environmental threats to the Central American country.
Contrary to official promises of sustainable development, the organization asserted that the advance of this extractive model aggravates the environmental risks that currently challenge El Salvador, and will probably lead to human rights violations, pollution and threats to public health.
“And they will have an adverse economic impact on important industries, such as agriculture and tourism. El Salvador cannot undermine its path to water conservation, healthy communities and sustainable neighborhoods. This is a contradiction in terms,” said the authors of the analysis, Robin Broad, John Cavanagh, Jan Morrill and Manuel Pérez-Rocha.
In developing their arguments, the evaluators considered that, according to an opinion poll conducted by the José Simeón Cañas Central American University, 59% of Salvadorans consider that the country is not suitable for industrial mining.
They also point out that Salvadoran gold is extremely fine, it does not come in solid nuggets, so huge amounts of water are required for its filtering, with a consumption of up to 18 thousand liters for each ounce of metal extracted.
“El Salvador has the lowest water resources per capita in Central America and is among the lowest in the entire hemisphere. Gold mining threatens both the quantity and quality of the water supply,” they stress.
They also pointed to risks surrounding violence and security, which has been one of the most visible banners of Bukele's administration. His fight against gangs, a social scourge in El Salvador since the years of the civil war, has earned him high levels of public popularity and the executive often resorts to the argument of pacification to advance his political agenda.
On the other hand, however, IPS analysts warned that mining interests tend to increase cases of corruption, through the purchase of local authorities in exchange for financial favors.
They also recalled that in 2009, three water defenders were murdered, while in 2023, mining was the area most linked to the murder of environmental activists worldwide.
“Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua are usually among the ten countries with the most violations against environmental defenders,” they noted.
Citizen mobilization
This Sunday, January 19, 2025, different civil organizations, students and the deputy Claudia Ortiz, affiliated with the Vamos party, demonstrated in the historic center of El Salvador to demand that President Bukele and the Legislative Assembly repeal the metal mining law.
Gathered under the slogan “Yes to life, no to mining,” the protesters sought to collect signatures against the extractive measure.
“El Salvador is not a country suitable for mining, it puts ecosystems and health at serious risk. Anyone who ignores this is going against the will of the majority of the population. Here we choose life, that is why we say no to mining,” said the Salvadoran Ecological Unit (UNES).
Meanwhile, the Central American Alliance Against Mining (Acafremin) argued that mining pollution of rivers could be irreversible, affecting both diversity and the human right to access water.
"The pollution left in the basins also affects the population with chronic diseases, such as kidney failure and cancer," he said.
“Water is worth more than gold,” “Rivers don’t scream, but I do,” “Bukele, let your gold be bitcoin, our gold is the forests and rivers,” “El Salvador’s gold is green” were some of the slogans expressed by the protesters on banners.
“Something is awakening in Salvadorans, believers are collecting signatures, young people are mobilizing, more people are raising their voices with courage. The people do not want to return to the past, that is why there is hope for the future. Let's move forward!” wrote parliamentarian Ortiz on her X account.
Proclamation to close the southern border, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that allows the closure of the southern border to undocumented immigrants and has instructed all authorities to take the necessary measures to repel, detain and deport all those with irregular immigration status.
This Wednesday, the president Donald Trump issued a proclamation and signed an executive order allowing the closure of the southern border to undocumented immigrants, and has instructed all authorities to take the necessary measures to repel, detain and deport all those with irregular immigration status.
The decree “suspends the physical entry of foreigners who participate in an invasion of the United States through the southern border.”
With this executive order and under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as well as the United States Constitution, President Trump is authorizing and directing the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State to take all necessary measures to “immediately repel, repatriate, and expel undocumented aliens” across the country’s southern border.
Trump has thus given the green light and support for mass raids that end in deportations.
The decree also states that President Trump has further restricted access to provisions of immigration laws that would allow any “illegal alien involved in an invasion” across the southern border of the United States to remain in the country, such as asylum.
It should be noted that after Trump took office as the 47th president of the United States, the CBP One application stopped working, while it sent alerts about the cancellation of appointments to every immigrant who had an appointment with immigration authorities at the border to discuss the possibility of asylum. This left migrant lines at eight border posts between Mexico and the United States.
The news has been received with sadness and uncertainty by thousands of migrants seeking to enter the country legally.
With the emergence of avian flu and other public health threats, Trump's war on immigrants will complicate efforts to identify and treat outbreaks and implement vaccination initiatives.
With the emergence of avian flu and other public health threats, Trump's war on immigrants will complicate efforts to identify and treat outbreaks and implement vaccination initiatives.
President Trump’s inaugural address on Monday signaled his continued commitment to characterizing immigrants as criminal invaders and an impediment to his campaign mantra of “making America great again.”
Following his speech, Trump signed a series of executive orders (declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ending birthright citizenship, as well as ending the use of the CBP1 app, among others) that will not only inflict pain on immigrants and their neighbors, but also on thousands of American businesses and families.
Worse still, these measures will undermine efforts to protect public health just as the country faces a series of existing and emerging threats that put us all, immigrants and non-immigrants, at risk.
One of the lessons of COVID-19 is that the best response to a pandemic is to work hard to prevent it from starting. Public health researchers have been warning for decades about evidence of zoonotic diseases (transmission from animals to humans) such as HIV, SARS-1 (the predecessor of COVID-19), MERS, Ebola and many others.
Avian influenza (H5N1) is the most recent, with 66 confirmed cases and one confirmed death to date in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The systematic persecution of agricultural workers, Half of whom are unauthorized immigrants , will greatly increase the risk that this now latent epidemic will develop into something much more disastrous.
Research shows that in places where immigration enforcement is especially severe, about 251% of unauthorized immigrants (as well as their family members who are in the country legally) do not receive health care. That alone will undermine efforts to address overall disparities in access to health, and wipe out at least a decade of progress toward public health equity.
Trump's anti-immigrant campaign will also undermine childhood vaccination campaigns against preventable diseases like measles, as well as COVID-19 vaccines for at-risk older farmworkers, a dangerous shift in attitude heightened by the election of an anti-vaccine crusader to lead HHS and a vaccine skeptic to lead the CDC.
Even more alarming is the widespread detention raids of non-citizens by CBP and/or ICE ( as happened earlier this month in parts of California's Central Valley , where there is a statewide emergency order to combat avian influenza) will inevitably complicate the already difficult task of quickly identifying and treating potential avian influenza infections in the farmworker population.
At present, while the impact of avian influenza remains primarily economic and there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission, genomic analysis has identified a viral mutation that could potentially increase human infection and thus increase transmission.
Given the risks, a crucial goal should be to minimize exposure and infections among farmworkers who are in regular contact with infected dairy cows or poultry to avoid dangerous mutations.
A second step would be to rapidly identify people who have contracted H5N1 and provide them with free antiviral treatment to speed recovery and, by reducing the viral load, decrease the risk of transmission.
Other steps should include:
Prohibit warrantless arrests of persons suspected of being in the United States illegally.
Initiate a vigorous public campaign to encourage farmworkers and their families to get vaccinated with the seasonal influenza vaccine currently available without collection of personally identifiable information.
A 360-degree “surround sound” community campaign to assure farmworkers and their families of the confidentiality of personal information provided to secure medical care.
Expand CDC's current monitoring of family members and close contacts of farmworkers who contract avian influenza to all farmworkers' social networks.
And a vigorous public health campaign to encourage farmworkers and their families to seek immediate medical attention for flu-like respiratory illnesses, especially conjunctivitis (a symptom that may be more common in avian flu than in seasonal flu).
Earlier this month, outgoing Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced a $306 million investment in Monitoring and preparing for avian influenza . Another $590 million will go to the pharmaceutical company Moderna, given its success in rapidly developing the COVID vaccine. These investments of just under $1 billion are a drop in the ocean compared to the An estimated $88 billion per year for the detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants.
Moving forward with greater efforts to protect the United States from avian flu is affordable, feasible, and can dramatically reduce the risk of another pandemic. The business-oriented Trump administration would need to focus on the well-being of workers in the poultry and dairy industries, whose labor is essential to the operation of these multibillion-dollar industries.
In a rational social and political environment, these “common sense” measures (to borrow a phrase from Trump’s inaugural address) would be relatively easy to implement. But that is not the environment we find ourselves in.
However, any progress made in terms of technological tools to combat bird flu will be ineffective, as Trump's unjustified campaign against immigrants makes it impossible to identify and treat outbreaks and launch vaccination initiatives.
Even as we enter an era where anti-immigrant voices are louder than ever, it is important to continue to remind local, state and federal elected officials that we are all in this together.
Ed Kissam led several national research projects on U.S. farmworkers over the past 30 years. He served as a farmworker outreach expert on several COVID-19 initiatives during the pandemic and published extensively on efforts to improve the strategy. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the CDC-funded H5N1 Outreach and Research Program at the National Center for Farmworker Health.
The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, said that the dialogue between Mexico and the United States began with Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which were “very cordial” and where issues of migration and security were discussed. Photo: Presidency
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo said that Mexican Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente began talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which were “very cordial” and discussed migration and security issues.
At his morning press conference, he added that talks began yesterday: “It is very important that everyone knows this. The first call that Secretary Rubio made to another country was to Mexico, and it was a very cordial call, the foreign minister informed me yesterday and from then on a process of talks between both governments will begin.”
In this regard, she said that although the talks are at an early stage, "I am convinced that we will have agreements on the various issues," which will be reported on promptly through the morning press conference.
Regarding a possible high-level meeting between the two governments, he clarified that a visit has not yet been planned, but reported that they have common projects, such as the acquisition of a gas plant in Texas, which is part of the Mexico Plan.
“We are going to monitor the Mexico Plan every week or every 15 days. There are several projects, particularly those for liquefaction or gas compression, that were left behind by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and we are monitoring them.”
On the other hand, the Mexican president said that the nine centers of attention on the border are already being installed, as part of the program Mexico Te Abraza. “Yesterday, Secretary Marath was there and today I have asked Secretary Adriana Montiel to go and supervise some of these centers, so that they are enabled as soon as possible.”
“Yesterday there was less welcome from Mexicans than in previous days. We are going to support our brothers who return. Here in Mexico they will always be welcomed with open arms, and Mexico is experiencing a stellar moment.”
She also expressed her gratitude for a statement published yesterday by the National Conference of Governors (Conago) in defense of the sovereignty and well-being of Mexicans, in which the 31 governors and the head of government of Mexico City expressed their solidarity with the president to defend Mexicans abroad.
“It is something very good, very important, because regardless of the parties, in the case of the governors, we decided to work together for the well-being of Mexico. I appreciate the announcement and it speaks of this coordination that we have with everyone, regardless of the political party to which they belong.”
Cambios en políticas estatales y federales ha generado incertidumbre en el futuro de la financiación y la elegibilidad de la atención médica, la política de inmigración, la inversión en infraestructura y más, por lo que los líderes cívicos de todo el condado de San Mateo se reunieron para prepararse.
Líderes cívicos de todo el condado de San Mateo se reunieron para prepararse ante los inminentes y radicales cambios en las políticas y prioridades estatales y federales.
Y es que, la incertidumbre rodea el futuro de la financiación y la elegibilidad de la atención médica, la política de inmigración, la inversión en infraestructura y más.
“Tienen un impacto real en la gente de nuestro condado y, en muchos casos, en los más vulnerables. Por eso estamos aquí hoy para escucharlos”, señaló el ejecutivo del condado, Mike Callagy, al inaugurar la conferencia que duró todo el día en el Centro de Eventos del Condado de San Mateo el pasado jueves.
“Queremos escuchar”, dijo Callagy a unos 150 representantes de ciudades locales, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y otros grupos. “Queremos entender cuáles podrían ser sus preocupaciones o cómo las políticas podrían afectarlos”.
Participants said they were concerned that changes to eligibility requirements for a number of federally funded programs could create a chilling effect, preventing families from applying for or receiving certain benefits.
“Tienen miedo de que su información se comparta y que se los ponga en el radar de algún grupo”, dijo Laura Bent, directora ejecutiva de Samaritan House, una organización sin fines de lucro con sede en San Mateo que brinda servicios a personas y familias con bajos ingresos. “Tienen miedo de los recortes. Tienen miedo de las reducciones en los servicios y apoyos que tienen y de los que dependen”.
Los debates se centraron en las formas en que los gobiernos locales y los grupos comunitarios pueden unirse para apoyar una amplia gama de servicios de red de seguridad, independientemente de quién preste esos servicios.
“Lo que hemos presenciado es un esfuerzo de equipo total”, expresó David Canepa, presidente de la Junta de Supervisores del Condado de San Mateo, quien asistió al evento. “Es el condado, nuestras ciudades, nuestras organizaciones comunitarias y organizaciones sin fines de lucro. A medida que avanzamos, nos damos cuenta de que no es solo una solución del Condado. No es solo una solución de la ciudad. Es una solución colectiva. Ese es el significado y la importancia de lo que está sucediendo hoy”.
Y es que, el presidente Donald Trump, firmó una serie de órdenes ejecutivas que, entre otras muchas cosas, ha puesto fin a programas gubernamentales, entre ellos de diversidad, equidad e inclusión, a los cuales ha tachado de ilegales e inmorales.
El presidente Donald Trump demandó a la obispa Mariann Edgar Budde disculparse ante el público por las declaraciones hechas la mañana de este martes durante un servicio religioso, celebrado en la Catedral Nacional de Washington, luego de pedirle piedad y misericordia “para la gente del país que tiene miedo”, especialmente inmigrantes y miembros de la comunidad LGBTQ+.
El presidente Donald Trump demandó a la obispa Mariann Edgar Budde disculparse ante el público por las declaraciones hechas la mañana de este martes durante un servicio religioso, celebrado en la Catedral Nacional de Washington, luego de pedirle piedad y misericordia “para la gente del país que tiene miedo”, especialmente inmigrantes y miembros de la comunidad LGBTQ+.
“¡No es muy buena en su trabajo! ¡Ella y su iglesia le deben una disculpa al público!”, escribió el recién estrenado mandatario a través de su cuenta en la red social Truth Social.
El presidente de Estados Unidos resaltó que “La llamada Obispa que habló en el Servicio Nacional de Oración el martes por la mañana era una radical de izquierda que odia a Trump”.
Además, dijo que la obispa “llevó a su iglesia al mundo de la política de una manera muy descortés. Su tono era desagradable, y no convincente ni inteligente”.
Donald Trump no desaprovechó y volvió a arremeter contra los inmigrantes, volviéndolos a tachar de delincuentes.
“No mencionó la gran cantidad de inmigrantes ilegales que llegaron a nuestro país y mataron a personas. Muchos fueron sacados de cárceles e instituciones mentales. Es una ola de delincuencia gigante que está teniendo lugar en los EE. UU.”, subrayó en su declaración escrita.
El servicio de la obispa Mariann Edgar Budde dijo haberle parecido aburrido e impropio.
“Aparte de sus declaraciones inapropiadas, el servicio fue muy aburrido y poco inspirador. ¡No es muy buena en su trabajo! ¡Ella y su iglesia le deben una disculpa al público!”, finalizó.
Y es que, durante el sermón, Edgar Budde dijo: “Permítame hacer una última súplica, señor presidente: millones han depositado su confianza en usted y, como le dijo a la nación ayer, usted ha sentido la mano providencial de un Dios amoroso. En nombre de nuestro señor, le pido que tenga misericordia de la gente de nuestro país que tiene miedo”.
Agregó que había “niños homosexuales, lesbianas y transgénero en familias demócratas, republicanas e independientes, algunos de los cuales temen por sus vidas”.
La obispa también se refirió a “las personas que recogen nuestros productos y limpian nuestras oficinas, que trabajan en granjas avícolas y lavan los platos en sus restaurantes y trabajan en los turnos de noche en los hospitales”.
“Puede que no sean ciudadanos o que no tengan la documentación adecuada, pero la gran mayoría de los inmigrantes no son delincuentes. Pagan impuestos y son buenos vecinos”, explicó viendo al mandatario.
Tras el servicio, Trump declaró a periodistas en La Casa Blanca: “No fue muy emocionante, ¿verdad?”. “No pienso que haya sido un buen servicio, no. Podrían haberlo hecho mucho mejor”.
Mariann Edgar Budde es la obispa de la Diócesis Episcopal de Washington. El sitio web de la iglesia la describe como una “defensora y organizadora en apoyo de las cuestiones de justicia, incluida la equidad racial, la prevención de la violencia con armas de fuego, la reforma migratoria, la plena inclusión de las personas LGBTQ+ y el cuidado de la creación”.
A su vez, destaca que cuando no está trabajando, “a menudo se le encontrará montando en bicicleta, pasando tiempo con su familia o cocinando la cena para sus amigos. La obispa Budde y su esposo, Paul, tienen dos hijos adultos: Amos, casado con Erika, y Patrick. Son abuelos orgullosos y cariñosos”.
Al servicio acudieron Trump y el vicepresidente JD Vance con sus familias, así como con el presidente de la Cámara de Representantes, Mike Johnson, y el nominado a secretario de Defensa, Pete Hegseth.
Eliminating birthright citizenship has prompted prosecutors in 18 US states and the city of San Francisco to sue the incoming Donald Trump administration.
Eliminating the right to birthright citizenship has led to prosecutors from 18 US states and the city of San Francisco are suing the incoming Donald Trump administration.
After prosecutors from 18 US states and the city of San Francisco reported on Tuesday morning that they have sued the newly incoming San Francisco Administration, Donald Trump Four more states have joined in seeking to eliminate birthright citizenship, bringing the number of governments seeking to halt the executive order to 22.
The 22 states are joined by the city of San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and several civil rights and legal organizations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
These lawsuits seek to challenge the unconstitutional executive order that would affect tens of thousands of babies born each year in the United States.
The lawsuit, led by California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, argues that President Trump’s unprecedented executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and should be immediately blocked from taking effect while litigation is ongoing.
The executive order signed by Trump, entitled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” states that the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted as a universal extension of citizenship to all persons born in the United States.
“The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but are not “subject to its jurisdiction,” it said.
Among the categories of people born in the United States and not subject to its jurisdiction, the executive order details, are: “when the mother of that person was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of the birth of said person.”
In turn, it says: when the presence of that person's mother in the United States at the time of that person's birth was legal but temporary (such as, among others, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of that person's birth.
It also specifies that “it is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government will issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by state, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) where that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of that person’s birth, or (2) where that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of that person’s birth.”
This executive order, explains, will take effect 30 days after it is signed.
Under these conditions, the lawsuit filed by these 22 states states that these children would lose their most basic rights and would be forced to live under the threat of deportation, they would lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefit programs, as well as their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work legally, and they would also lose their right to vote, to serve on juries and to run for certain offices.
In documents filed Tuesday, January 21, one day after the decree was signed, the attorneys general maintain that President Trump's executive order is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act and would cause irreparable harm to the states and their residents.
California is suing the Trump administration over an unconstitutional birthright citizenship order, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced.
Listen to this note:
California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to challenge the Trump administration's unconstitutional executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.
Under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, all children born on American soil are automatically granted American citizenship and the rights and privileges that go with it.
In 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this right in a case brought by Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese-American man born in San Francisco who had been denied his reentry rights after traveling abroad.
In today’s lawsuit, 18 state attorneys general, led by California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, argue that President Trump’s unprecedented executive order violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and should be immediately blocked from taking effect while litigation proceeds.
“The President’s executive order attempting to rescind birthright citizenship is blatantly unconstitutional and, frankly, un-American,” said Attorney General Bonta.
“As the home of Wong Kim Ark, a San Francisco native who successfully fought to have his U.S. citizenship recognized, California condemns the president’s attempts to erase history and ignore 125 years of Supreme Court precedent. We are asking the court to immediately block this order from going into effect and ensure that the rights of American-born children affected by this order remain in place while litigation is underway. The president has completely exceeded his authority with this order, and we will hold him accountable.”
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly promises 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.”
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed this constitutional right in 1898, when a Chinese-American man born in San Francisco was denied entry to the United States after visiting relatives in China on the grounds that he was not a citizen.
In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court held that children born in the United States, including those of immigrants, could not be denied citizenship.
Within hours of taking office, the president issued an executive order that ignored the U.S. Constitution and this long-established precedent.
The order directs federal agencies to prospectively deny citizenship rights to children born in the United States to parents who are not legal residents, directs the Social Security Administration and the Department of State, respectively, to stop issuing Social Security numbers and U.S. passports to such children, and directs all federal agencies to treat such children as if they were not entitled to any privileges, rights, or benefits reserved by law to persons who are U.S. citizens.
If the order is allowed to stand, it would deprive tens of thousands of children born each year of their ability to be full and fair participants in American society as legitimate citizens, with all the benefits and privileges that come with it, the lawsuit says.
In turn, it points out that these children would lose their most basic rights and would be forced to live under the threat of deportation, they would lose eligibility for a wide range of federal benefit programs, as well as their ability to obtain a Social Security number and, as they grow older, to work legally, they would also lose their right to vote, to serve on juries and to run for certain offices.
The executive order would also directly harm California and other states, Bonta noted, by jeopardizing federal funding for vital programs they administer, such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, which are conditioned on the citizenship and immigration status of the children they serve.
In addition, he said, states would be required — with little notice and at considerable cost — to immediately begin modifying the way they operate and administer their benefit programs to account for this change by Feb. 19, when the order takes effect.
In documents filed today, the attorneys general argue that President Trump's executive order is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and the Immigration and Nationality Act and would cause irreparable harm to states and their residents.
The attorneys general are therefore seeking a nationwide preliminary injunction to prevent the denial of the constitutional rights of tens of thousands of babies born each year in the U.S. who otherwise would have been, and should be, citizens, including approximately 24,500 children born in California annually, and the disruption of vital public health programs and other federal benefits.
Attorney General Bonta is joined by the attorneys general of New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin, along with the city of San Francisco.
Claudia Sheinbaum, President of Mexico, calls for calm and a “cool head” in the face of Donald Trump’s actions. Photo: Juan Carlos Ramos Mamahua /Presidency
Listen to this note:
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has called for calm and a "cool head" in the face of executive orders signed by US President Donald Trump during his first day in office.
"At all times we must act responsibly, with a cool head, in order to establish the relations that we need to establish, because our priority is not to confront, to defend our sovereignty and that of the Mexican people," the president said during her morning press conference at the National Palace.
Sheinbaum said it is important to refer only to the decrees signed yesterday by President Donald Trump, to act with moderation and wait for Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente to contact the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio; however, the country and the Mexicans will always be defended.
To the people of Mexico, Sheinbaum said, “rest assured that we will always defend our sovereignty and our independence, that is a maximum principle that the president must fulfill; the second thing is that we will always support the Mexicans who are in the United States, our fellow citizens, our countrymen. These two principles are fundamental and elementary for a president or a president of the Republic,” she stressed.
The president added that she will act within the framework of the Mexican Constitution and its laws.
“Now, it is important to always keep a cool head and refer to the decrees signed beyond the speech itself, which is valid in the strict sense of the law, because they are the decrees signed by President Trump, so we are going to put everything in context,” he said when referring to five executive orders signed by Donald Trump that have to do with Mexico.
The first one she referred to was the one signed by Trump on the decree of the emergency zone of the southern border, which Sheinbaum specified is very similar, "practically the same", as the one signed in his first term in office in 2019.
“If you compare the two decrees, there are differences, but they are very similar. I say this because it has already happened, it is not something new. It happened in 2019, so it is important to know that there was already a framework for action, cooperation between the United States government and Mexico,” said the Mexican president.
Although former President Joseph Biden removed the decree when he took office, Donald Trump has restored it.
The second signed ordinance involving Mexico, he recalled, is the one signed on the “Stay in Mexico” program or MPP, as they call it, which he specified was established by President Donald Trump in his first term, in December 2018, and which orders that people who request asylum in the United States are not allowed to remain in its territory while they are requesting the benefit.
“…That is what the MPP essentially says. We have our own immigration policy but we are also a humanitarian government; if there is a person who is at the border, especially now that it is so cold, then we obviously act in a humanitarian manner, we are not going to leave people out in the open, and we seek repatriation to their countries if necessary,” explained the president of Mexico.
He also said that there should be dialogue with the United States agencies that deal with immigration matters, in order to find all the protocols and mechanisms.
“This has nothing to do with a safe third country, it is a statement from the United States government. What do we do about it? Act in a humanitarian manner and then, in accordance with our foreign policy, our immigration policy, seek the repatriation of these people to their countries of origin if they are not Mexican.”
The third topic that the Mexican president touched on was the change of name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, which Trump has signed to happen. In that sense, she explained that, according to the executive order, this new title will be on the continental shelf that corresponds to the United States, not the entire body of water.
“It is important to read what the decree says; they say that it will be called the Gulf of America on its continental shelf, that is, what corresponds to the continental shelf of the United States, they call it the Gulf of America, for us it is still the Gulf of Mexico and for the entire world it is still the Gulf of Mexico,” Sheinbaum pointed out.
Regarding the classification of drug cartels as terrorist organizations, he said that work must be done in collaboration, but always respectful of sovereignty and territory.
“The decree establishes that they have at least two weeks to study who they would call a terrorist organization. What do we say? They can act in their territory, within their framework of action and their Constitution. What we say is the defense of our sovereignty, of our independence. That is why we always said we coordinate, but we are a free, independent and sovereign country, and what we are going to seek is coordination,” he said.
Sheinbaum highlighted that the current Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, said that coordination with Mexico will be sought, “and that is what we are going to seek, coordination in matters of security with respect to our sovereignty. That is what we are proposing and the space for communication must be opened from now on.”
Finally, he spoke about the signing of the executive order that refers to the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada (USMCA), where he explained that the decree states: “The United States Trade Representative will initiate the public consultation process established in section 4611(b) of title 19 of the United States Code, with respect to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in preparation for the review of the USMCA in July 2026.”
He also said that the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Security will evaluate illegal migration and fentanyl flows from Mexico and Canada and will recommend appropriate trade and national security measures to resolve this emergency.
“So, once again, we will always act in defense of our sovereignty and our independence; two, in the protection and support of solidarity with our fellow citizens, with the Mexicans who live in the United States; three, we will act within the framework of our Constitution and our laws; and four, always with a cool head,” Claudia Sheinbaum stressed.
“It is important to remain calm and read the decrees as such in order to make an interpretation. Know that the President of the Republic will always defend Mexico above all else.”
