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  • What Is US Birthright Citizenship And How Does Trump’s Order Affect It?

What Is US Birthright Citizenship And How Does Trump’s Order Affect It?

Learn about US birthright citizenship and the implications of Trump's executive order, which seeks to end automatic citizenship for children of non-citizens.

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What Is US Birthright Citizenship And How Does Trump’s Order Affect It?


As part of a sweeping crackdown on both undocumented and legal immigrants, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, following his swearing-in, that aims to end the right to citizenship for some children born in the United States. This move has sparked significant controversy and legal challenges.

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What is US Birthright Citizenship?

Birthright citizenship, or jus soli (Latin for “right of the soil”), is a deeply held value in the United States. It allows nearly everyone born on US soil to become a US citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. This principle is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which states: “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.” This clause, known as the Citizenship Clause, establishes the modern basis for birthright citizenship.

The concept of jus soli comes from English common law, which held that people born in England were natural subjects. In the US, unrestricted birthright citizenship that includes people of color derives from the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in response to the 1857 Supreme Court ruling that Black descendants of enslaved people could not be US citizens. The amendment aimed to right this injustice and ensure citizenship for all persons born in the United States.

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In 1898, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wong Kim Ark, a young man born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents, affirming his US citizenship despite his parents’ inability to naturalize. This precedential decision has withstood the test of time and remains fundamental to the understanding of birthright citizenship.

Trump’s Executive Order and Its Implications

Trump’s executive order seeks to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents who are not lawful permanent residents or US citizens. The order disallows federal agencies from issuing or recognizing documentation proving US citizenship for such children, targeting both unauthorized immigrants and those legally in the US on temporary visas.

The order has faced immediate legal challenges. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) led a group of organizations in filing a lawsuit, arguing that the order violates the Constitution. A coalition of 22 Democratic-led states, the District of Columbia, and San Francisco also filed suit in federal court, calling the order a flagrant violation of the US Constitution. On January 23, US District Judge John Coughenour temporarily blocked the order, deeming it “blatantly unconstitutional.”

If implemented, Trump’s executive order could create a permanent underclass by denying citizenship to children born in the US without at least one parent who is a lawful permanent resident or US citizen. This policy change would specifically target communities of color and could lead to significant social and economic consequences.

Legal scholars strongly suggest that neither executive action nor legislation should be able to supersede the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. However, the Trump administration’s long-term strategy may involve forcing the Supreme Court to reinterpret the Fourteenth Amendment, potentially jeopardizing the current understanding of birthright citizenship.

Even if the administration is unable to completely undo birthright citizenship, officials have explored other ways to address the issue, such as restricting short-term visas for pregnant travelers to prevent them from giving birth in the US.

As the legal battle over Trump’s executive order continues, the future of birthright citizenship in the United States remains uncertain. The outcome of this conflict will have profound implications for the nation’s immigration policies and the rights of individuals born on US soil.

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