President Donald Trump has taken a historic and controversial step by signing an executive order to end birthright citizenship in the United States. The move seeks to strip U.S. citizenship from children born on American soil to undocumented immigrants, challenging a constitutional right upheld for over 150 years under the 14th Amendment.
The executive order, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” applies to babies born after February 19 and excludes those with undocumented or temporarily authorised parents. The administration argues that the reinterpretation of the amendment will close what they view as loopholes encouraging “birth tourism” and “anchor babies.”
“This has been a long time coming,” Trump said during the Oval Office signing.
“People have wanted this for decades, and we believe we have strong grounds to defend this policy.”
The executive order does not address non-traditional families, narrowly defining parents as male and female “biological progenitors.” Babies born under the new policy would face barriers such as the inability to obtain Social Security numbers, passports, or state-issued birth certificates, leaving them stateless and in legal limbo.
The policy is expected to face immediate legal challenges. Constitutional experts, immigrant advocates, and civil rights groups, including the ACLU, argue that the order is an unconstitutional overreach. The 14th Amendment explicitly states,
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens of the United States.”
Critics warn of chaos and harm, particularly for vulnerable families. Wendy Cervantes of the Center for Law and Social Policy highlighted the potential impacts:
“This could deny newborns access to critical health care and services, causing long-term harm to families.”
Historically, the 14th Amendment was adopted in 1868 to secure citizenship for freed slaves, a principle affirmed by the 1898 Supreme Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark. The court has not revisited the matter since, and legal scholars doubt Trump’s order will withstand judicial scrutiny.
Immigration advocates and policy analysts warn that this order, alongside other restrictive immigration measures announced on Inauguration Day, could reshape the landscape for immigrant families. While supporters of the policy claim it curtails illegal immigration, data suggests the number of births to undocumented immigrants has been declining for over a decade.
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