| For Immediate Release: July 24, 2025 | Contact: Rahat N. Babar, Deputy Executive Director |
WASHINGTON — The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) applauds the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision pausing Executive Order 14160 nationwide. In State of Washington v. Trump, the court ruled yesterday that EO 14160, which would deny citizenship to children born of parents who are not citizens or lawful permanent residents, violates the plain language of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. It also concluded that a nationwide injunction was warranted to award the states challenging EO 14160 complete relief.
“We are grateful that the court recognized what NAPABA has argued from the beginning—EO 14160 undermines the constitutional promise of an equal claim of citizenship to all persons born in the United States and runs against nearly 127 years of history, precedent, and practice,” said Thy Bui, President of NAPABA.
NAPABA and a coalition of its affiliates filed an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit (along with the First Circuit and the Fourth Circuit) and explained that EO 14160 distorts the holding of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898). Wong Kim Ark upheld the conferral of citizenship to children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. The brief underscored this precedent’s historical significance and the role of Asian Americans in shaping our nation’s foundational immigration and civil rights precedents.
“If implemented, EO 14160 would exact disproportionate harm on the Asian American community,” said Priya Purandare, Executive Director of NAPABA. “The question of a child’s citizenship in the United States ought not to be dependent on the stature or circumstances of their parents. Nor should it turn on whether a child is born in one state versus another. For the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment to be vindicated, birthright citizenship must apply to all children across the United States. We are grateful that the court agreed.”
The Ninth Circuit recognized Wong Kim Ark’s precedential weight. Despite the harsh legal environment for Chinese Americans living in the 19th century under the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Geary Act, Wong Kim Ark, a young Chinese American who was born in San Francisco to noncitizen parents, “acquired United States citizenship by birth.”
The U.S. Constitution demands that the same must be true for children born today. Consistent with the Citizenship Clause’s plain language, EO 14160 must ultimately be set aside.
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The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) represents the interests of over 80,000 Asian Pacific American (APA) legal professionals and over 90 national, state, and local APA bar associations. NAPABA is a leader in addressing civil rights issues confronting Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities. Through its national network, NAPABA provides a strong voice for increased diversity of the federal and state judiciaries, advocates for equal opportunity in the workplace, works to eliminate hate crimes and anti-immigrant sentiment, and promotes the professional development of people of all backgrounds in the legal profession.