Pasadena Joins Legal Challenge to Trump Birthright Citizenship Order

The Pasadena City Council voted Monday night to join as an amicus curiae in Barbara v. Trump, a case challenging the presidential executive order that seeks to deny birthright United States citizenship to specific groups.

The Council’s approval, reported out of closed session by City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris, authorizes the City to enter the case on behalf of the plaintiffs challenging Executive Order 14160. During the report, a Councilmember sought to clarify the City’s position, noting Pasadena is joining on behalf of the Barbara plaintiffs, not on behalf of the Trump administration.

The executive order targets children born in the United States whose parents are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents. An amicus brief filed Feb. 22 by three leading citizenship and immigration law scholars argues the order is unlawful on two independent grounds: it violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, and it conflicts with federal statutes — specifically the Nationality Act of 1940 and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 — that codified broad territorial birthright citizenship and cannot be overridden by presidential directive.

Every lower court to consider Executive Order 14160 has found it invalid. The scholars urge the Supreme Court to strike down the order on both constitutional and statutory bases, underscoring that Congress — not the president — controls the scope of citizenship conferred by federal law.

The closed session action was one of several taken by the Council Monday. Bagneris reported the Council met on closed session items A through E, did not discuss item F, and that the amicus filing was the only matter requiring public disclosure under the Brown Act.

The Council’s decision to enter the birthright citizenship case came on the same night it unanimously approved a sweeping resolution addressing federal immigration enforcement activity in Pasadena, including measures to restrict the use of City property for immigration operations and establish protocols for police interactions with federal agents.