NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- President Donald Trump's flurry of executive orders mere hours after being sworn in has many immigrants unsure of what to do and confused about what is to come.
Trump signed an order declaring a national emergency at the southern border and he also signed a bid to cut off birthright citizenship to children of parents who are in the United States illegally.
Twenty-two states -- including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco sued in federal court to block Trump's order.
New Jersey Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that presidents might have broad authority but they are not kings.
"The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence, period," he said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a U.S. citizen by birthright and the nation's first Chinese American elected attorney general, said the lawsuit was personal for him.
"The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says -- if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop," he said. "There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own."
New York Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state will do what it can to uphold birthright citizenship.
"Birthright citizenship isn't just enshrined in our constitution, it's key to the fundamental promise of America. While we are currently reviewing specifics of the executive orders issued by President Trump today, New York is prepared to take any action within our power to ensure that those born in our state have all the rights and protections that prior generations of new Americans have been granted," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement.
Organizations are now working feverishly to explore legal action and the ACLU has already filed lawsuits in addition to the 22 states.
"There has been an understanding in this country, including all the way to the Supreme Court, for the last over 100 years that this includes people born to not citizens," said ACLU attorney Amy Belsher. "This is not something President Trump can do through executive order. Amendments to the Constitution, which is what would be required here, needs to pass a super majority of Congress."
Adding to the fear in immigrant communities are the reported ICE raids in numerous cities in the coming days.
"Border Czar" Tom Homan says these will be targeted operations and ICE will be looking for specific people with criminal histories, but Homan says authorities could potentially arrest others who are undocumented as they search for people on their list.
"There's nothing in the INA and the Immigration Nationality Act says you have to be convicted of a serious crime in order to be removed from this country," Homan said. "So there's there's gonna be more collateral arrests and sanctuary cities because they forced us to go into the community and find the guy we're looking for."
And now, there's new action blocking a Biden rule that prevented immigration authorities from operating in so-called sensitive places, like schools and churches.
"Criminals," the order says, "would no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest."
Reverend K. Karpen of St. Paul and St. Andrew on the Upper West Side has welcomed thousands of migrant families over the past couple of years, and he says he saw this coming.
"We're not trying to harbor criminals or whatever the language is that's coming out of Washington," Rev. Karpen said.
Days ago, Karpen posted a sign on his door, stating authorities will still need a warrant to enter this house of worship.
"Frankly, I think they want to instill fear," he said. "I feel it's really disrespectful of religious tradition and our ability to fulfill our religious mission because we take it seriously to offer help for people who desperately need help.
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said he will follow the sanctuary city laws, but has also called for those laws to be loosened.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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