NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As part of a coalition of 25 states, Tennessee has filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging birthright citizenship.

In January, President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to stop recognizing birthright citizenship. Under the 14th Amendment, anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen. This summer, separate federal courts rejected the order — but the Justice Department has asked SCOTUS to weigh in on the order's legality. Tennessee's brief was filed in connection with that case.

Tennessee and the other states argue in the brief that they've seen "an influx of illegal aliens." In the summary of their argument, they say that "mere-presence-at-birth-rule cannot be right all the time" and that conferring citizenship "requires a more meaningful connection than mere presence by happenstance or illegality."

“The idea that citizenship is guaranteed to everyone born in the United States doesn’t square with the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment or the way many government officials and legal analysts understood the law when it was adopted after the Civil War,” Skrmetti said. “If you look at the law at the time, citizenship attached to kids whose parents were lawfully in the country.  Each child born in this country is precious no matter their parents’ immigration status, but not every child is entitled to American citizenship. This case could allow the Supreme Court to resolve a constitutional question with far-reaching implications for the States and our nation.”

Iowa, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming joined Tennessee in filing the brief.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/tn-birthright-citizenship-amicus-curae/