Democratic governor of Illinois JB Pritzker he blasted President Trump’s executive order revoking birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
“It’s unconstitutional. We’re not going to follow an unconstitutional order,” Pritzker told reporters Monday, speaking at an unrelated event, Politico reported.
Trump’s order, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” argues that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution does not automatically grant American citizenship to individuals who are born in the United States.
The amendment reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker speaks during a rally in support of transgender people at the Federal Building Plaza on April 27, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Some legal experts said such a move was a constitutional change and cannot be executed by executive order. The move will almost certainly face a court challenge from civil rights groups and immigration activists.
Trump advisers and some conservative legal scholars have previously argued that the idea of giving birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants is based on a misinterpretation of the amendment.
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President Donald Trump holds up executive orders after signing them at a closed inauguration parade in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
The Democratic governor also took several swings at Trump as the 47th president launched a series of executive actions intended to fulfill campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration, end federal DEI programs and more. Pritzker, who is known to harbor presidential ambitions, said Trump’s swift executive actions were not communicated to state governors ahead of time.
“They haven’t communicated with us. I’m reading the same as you,” he said. “This is indicative of what you’re going to see from the Trump administration for the next four years. It’s chaos.”
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U.S. President Donald Trump sings the second executive order during the inauguration parade at Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of his second term as president, in Washington, U.S., January 20, 2025. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)
He also echoed concerns raised by former President Biden in his farewell address about the oligarchy of ultra-rich businessmen who sided with Trump. Titans of Silicon Valley Elon MuskMark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were high-profile attendees at Trump’s inauguration.
“He has oligarchs sitting in the front row of his inauguration. That shows who he cares about. It’s the richest people in America who are attracted to him, not ordinary Americans. He doesn’t care about ordinary Americans,” Pritzker said. , who is himself a billionaire from the wealthy Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain.
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Pritzker claimed his biggest problem with the new administration is “the intent to attack human rights. That’s something we’re going to have to deal with or deal with every day of this administration.”
