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Who is Cecillia Wang? Lawyer fighting case against Trump’s birthright citizenship order
Cecillia Wang is leading the legal fight against Trump’s birthright citizenship order at the Supreme Court.
As the Supreme Court of the United States hears arguments in a landmark case challenging Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, Cecillia Wang has taken center stage, fighting against Trump in one of the most significant legal battles over who gets to be an American citizen.
Who is Cecillia Wang?
According to ACLU, Cecillia Wang is the National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union.
She leads the ACLU’s work at the Supreme Court and oversees more than 200 lawyers and staff while also working with hundreds more across 54 state affiliates.
She has been with the ACLU for more than two decades. From 2016 to 2024, she served as deputy legal director and led the Center for Democracy, handling issues like immigrants’ rights, voting rights, national security, and privacy.
During the Trump administration, she helped lead challenges to major policies including the Muslim ban, family separation, border wall funding and the attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Earlier in her career, she directed the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and taught at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford law schools.
Wang began her legal career as an ACLU fellow and later worked as a public defender in New York and at a law firm in San Francisco. She graduated from Yale Law School and clerked for Justice Harry A. Blackmun and Judge William A. Norris. In 2025, she was named to Forbes’ “50 Over 50” list.
Also Read: Who is John Sauer? Trump’s solicitor general leading birthright citizenship case hearings
Her arguments in court
The case Trump v. Barbara is a nationwide lawsuit filed by the ACLU along with groups like the Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus and Democracy Defenders Fund. It challenges an executive order that aims to deny citizenship to many babies born in the United States.
Courts have repeatedly blocked the order saying it goes against the 14th Amendment, long-standing Supreme Court rulings and federal law. A federal court has also issued a preliminary injunction to protect birthright citizenship which led the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
According to ACLU, Wang is arguing the case before the Supreme Court on behalf of babies who could be affected by the executive order.
The legal team argues that the administration’s move goes against the Constitution, Supreme Court precedent and federal law. They say birthright citizenship is a core principle guaranteed by the 14th Amendment which ensures that every child born in the United States is a citizen.
Advocates say that this principle has been followed and accepted by all branches of government for generations, and argue that a president cannot change it through an executive order.
