(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Attorney General Kwame Raoul has joined attorneys general from 17 other states in filing a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s new executive order to end birthright citizenship. Trump issued the roughly 700-word executive order late Monday. The immigration policy known as birthright citizenship guarantees that children born in the United States are citizens regardless of their parents’ status.

Raoul argues the order violates constitutional rights guaranteed to all children born in the United States.

“That one of Donald Trump’s first actions as president should be so diametrically opposed to our values as Americans is incredibly disappointing, though not surprising,” Raoul said. “The children born in the U.S. to immigrants are entitled to the rights and privileges that go along with U.S. citizenship.”

Raoul emphasized the need for bipartisan immigration reform but said this order is not the solution. “As Attorney General, and as the proud son of Haitian immigrants, I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to defend the constitutional rights of all children born in this country,” he said.

Raoul’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, challenges Trump’s authority to override the U.S. Constitution, specifically the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the country. It also cites Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The coalition is seeking immediate court action, including a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction, to block the executive order from taking effect.

Birthright citizenship, protected by the 14th Amendment, has been a part of U.S. law for over 100 years. Raoul’s filing warns that the order would take away citizenship from children born in the U.S., denying them basic rights like voting, working legally, or getting a passport.

Raoul also argues that states could lose federal funding for programs like Medicaid and foster care and face steep costs to adjust their benefits systems.