New York and 17 other states have hit the Trump administration with a lawsuit challenging a newly issued executive order to end birthright citizenship.

The suit, which was also filed by the city of San Francisco and Washington, D.C., claims President Donald Trump’s Monday order violates the 14th Amendment.

“The great promise of our nation is that everyone born here is a citizen of the United States, able to achieve the American dream,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “Our constitution is not open to reinterpretation by executive order or presidential decree.”

“President Trump’s attempt to undermine the fundamental right to birthright citizenship is not just unconstitutional, it is profoundly dangerous,” James added. “Today, we are suing to uphold the integrity of the U.S. Constitution and ensure the promise of birthright citizenship remains intact for all who are born here.”

Birthright citizenship is a policy tied to language in the 14th Amendment, which indicates that "(a)ll 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." The 14th Amendment has been in effect since 1868.

Trump’s executive order, issued soon after his inauguration on Monday, argues the amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”

The order maintains citizenship “does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary… and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”

Tuesday’s lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction blocking the executive order, which is set to take effect on Feb. 19.

“Starting February 19, babies born to parents who are lawfully here on certain visas or are undocumented will be denied their most basic rights and forced to grow up under the threat of deportation,” James said in a release. “These children will be ineligible for a wide range of federal benefits programs. They will be unable to obtain a Social Security number and, as they age, to work lawfully. Their access to health care and critical food benefits will be placed in jeopardy. They will lack the right to vote, serve on juries, and run for certain offices.”

“Despite the Constitution’s guarantee of citizenship, these children will, for the first time since the 14th Amendment was adopted, lose their ability to fully and fairly be a part of American society as a citizen with all its benefits and privileges,” the release added.