President Donald Trump has decided to end a decades-old relationship immigration policy known as birthright citizenship when he ordered the annulment of the constitutional guarantee that children born in the United States are citizens, regardless of the status of their parents.
Trump’s roughly 700-word executive order, issued Monday evening, is an accomplishment of something he talked about during the presidential campaign. But its success is far from certain as attorneys general from 18 states and two cities challenged the order in court Tuesday, seeking to block the president.
Here’s a closer look at Birthright, Trump’s executive order, and his reaction:
Sonia Rosa Sifore and other anti-Trump protesters gather at Federal Plaza to rally around a number of issues, including immigrants’ rights, the war between Israel and Hamas, women’s reproductive rights, racial equality and others on President Trump’s inauguration day Monday. January 20, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
What is birthright citizenship?
Birthright citizenship means that everyone born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. For example, people living in the United States on a tourist or other visa, or living in the country illegally, can become parents to a citizen if their child is born here.
It has been in place for decades and enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the Constitutionsay the supporters. But Trump and his allies dispute the amendment’s reading and say it requires higher standards for becoming a citizen.
A young man reacts to news about how to prepare for the changes ahead for undocumented families living in the United States, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
What does Trump’s order say?
The order calls into question whether the 14th Amendment automatically extends citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
The 14th Amendment originated in the aftermath of the Civil War and ratified in 1868. It says: “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 . .”
Trump’s order excludes the following people from automatic citizenship: those whose mothers were not legally in the United States and whose fathers were not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents; people whose mothers were in the country legally but temporarily and whose fathers were not citizens or legal permanent residents.
It then prohibits federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of people in these categories. It takes effect 30 days from Tuesday February 19.
American flags around the Washington Monument are in full force during the 60th presidential inauguration, Monday, January 20, 2025, in Washington. Flags are expected to fly at half-staff through the end of January out of respect for former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
What is the history of the problem?
The 14th Amendment has not always guaranteed the right of citizenship to all people born in the United States. For example, Congress did not authorize citizenship for all Native Americans born in the United States until 1924.
In 1898, a major birthright citizenship case came before the United States Supreme Court. The court found that Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese parents, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in that country. After traveling abroad, the federal government denied him the right to return to the country on the grounds that he was not a citizen under the Chinese Exclusion Act.
But some supporters of immigration restrictions have argued that while the case clearly applies to children born to parents who are both legal immigrants, it is less clear whether it applies to children born to parents without status legal.
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
What was the reaction to Trump’s order?
Eighteen states, along with the District of Columbia and San Francisco, sued in federal court to block Trump’s order.
New Jersey’s Democratic Attorney General Matt Platkin said Tuesday that the president cannot overturn a right enshrined in the Constitution with the stroke of a pen.
“Presidents have broad powers but they are not kings,” Platkin said.
Shortly after Trump signed the order, immigrant rights groups sued to stop it.
Chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts, along with other immigrant rights advocates, filed the suit in New Hampshire federal court.
The suit asks the court to declare the order unconstitutional. It highlights the case of a woman identified as “Carmen,” who is pregnant but is not a citizen. The suit says she has lived in the United States for more than 15 years and has a pending visa application that could lead to permanent status. She has no other immigration status, and the father of her expected child also has no immigration status, the complaint states.
“Stripping children of the ‘priceless treasure’ of citizenship is a serious injury,” the suit states. “It deprives them of the full membership in American society to which they are entitled. »
In addition to New Jersey and the two cities, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin joined the group. continuation to stop the command.
