Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a coalition of 24 states filing a brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order addressing birthright citizenship.

On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order halting the recognition of citizenship for individuals born in the United States to illegal immigrants or temporary visitors. The policy has faced legal challenges, and the administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene.

The states’ brief argues that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause was meant to grant citizenship to freed slaves and their children—not to automatically confer citizenship on children of illegal immigrants or temporary visitors.

The filing also emphasizes what states say are the economic and public safety burdens tied to illegal immigration.

“The Constitution is not a loophole for illegal immigration,” Marshall said.

“The framers of the Fourteenth Amendment did not mean for citizenship to be granted by mere accident of birth. Citizenship belongs to those who share allegiance to our nation, reserved for the children of American citizens and lawful permanent residents, not those present unlawfully or temporarily. President Trump’s order rightly restores the true intent of the Citizenship Clause, and we urge the Supreme Court to affirm that principle.”

Alabama joined the brief co-led by Tennessee and Iowa, along with 22 other states including 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.

The brief was filed in the consolidated cases Trump v. Washington and Trump v. Barbara.

 Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].