Attorney General William Tong has continued to push back against the immigration policies of the Trump administration. On Thursday afternoon, Tong, along with the attorneys general from several states including California, New York, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Rhode Island, and Vermont, issued a joint statement in response to a memorandum from a Trump appointee at the Department of Justice. This memorandum dealt with the involvement of state and local authorities in federal immigration enforcement.
The attorneys general emphasized that, based on a Supreme Court precedent, it is well-established that the U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from forcing states to enforce federal laws. This ruling was made in 1997 in the case of Printz v. United States.
The joint statement referenced this decision, explaining that while the federal government can use its own resources for immigration enforcement, it cannot require state police officers to participate in this enforcement without compensation.
The statement further made it clear that the President cannot rewrite the Constitution unilaterally. Despite President Trump’s claims, the joint statement pointed out that there have been troubling threats to use the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecutorial power against public servants who are simply following their state laws. These threats are seen as an attempt to interfere with the trust that public officials have worked to build within their communities.
The attorneys general made it clear that they will continue to enforce their state laws, including investigating and prosecuting crimes regardless of a person’s immigration status. They also stated that they would not be distracted by the President’s push for mass deportations.
Later that day, Tong issued another statement following a ruling from a federal judge in Washington state who issued a temporary restraining order to block President Trump’s actions regarding birthright citizenship.
Tong strongly supported the ruling, calling the President’s actions unconstitutional. He emphasized that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution is very clear: anyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen. Tong argued that there was no legitimate legal debate on this issue and reaffirmed the commitment to fight for American families and the core values of the nation.
Additionally, Connecticut is part of a lawsuit involving 17 other states, Washington D.C., and a major city. The lawsuit challenges one of President Trump’s executive orders issued on his first day in office, which aimed to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. The lawsuit argues that this executive order violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War to secure citizenship for newly freed Black Americans. It was later used in the courts to ensure that all babies born on U.S. soil were granted citizenship.
Attorney General Tong strongly criticized the President’s actions, calling them a direct attack on American families and showing a lack of respect for the Constitution. He confidently expressed that the legal team will win the case, reaffirming that the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship for those born in the U.S. is clear and undeniable.
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