DDonald Trump is trying to redefine who is allowed to be an American citizen. On the first day of his presidency, Trump signed an order challenging a long-standing constitutional right that people born in the United States are guaranteed citizenship. This right has been considered established law since it was ratified as part of the Constitution more than 150 years ago.
Trump directed federal departments to illegally deny the right known as birthright citizenship to children born to mothers and fathers in the country. According to his order, it would also deny citizenship to children born to parents in the United States on work or study visas, tourist visas, or where neither parent is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The order could impact people who obtain passports, Social Security numbers and citizenship certificates. If so, the changes would take effect on February 19.
Within hours, Trump’s action was challenged in court as unconstitutional. A coalition of immigrant rights groups — expecting Trump to quickly sign such an order — filed a lawsuit Monday evening asking a federal court in New Hampshire to declare the order illegal and block the government federal government to implement it. “The framers of the Fourteenth Amendment specifically wrote this principle into the text of our Constitution to ensure that no one – not even the President – can deny children born in America their rightful place as citizens,” may we read in the trial. On Tuesday, attorneys general from 22 Democratic-led states, Washington, D.C., and the city of San Francisco joined in, filing similar lawsuits in federal courts in Seattle and Boston.
Here’s what you need to know about Trump’s order:
Who would the decree impact?
If upheld, the order would block citizenship for all children born after February 19, 2025, who do not have at least one U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident parent.
Trump’s instructions would end the automatic granting of citizenship to children born in the United States to mothers who are not legally in the country, unless their father is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. It would also deny citizenship to children of mothers who are temporarily in the country on a work visa, student visa or tourist visa, and whose fathers are neither citizens nor permanent residents.
About 150,000 children are born each year in the United States to two parents who do not have legal status, according to the complaint filed by 18 states. “They will all be deportable and many will be stateless,” the lawsuit says. “And despite being guaranteed their citizenship by the Constitution, they will lose their rights to participate in the economic and civic life of their own country – to work, to vote, to serve on juries and to run for certain offices. »
What documents would be refused?
The federal government regularly creates certain documents for newborns recognized as U.S. citizens. These documents include passports issued by the Department of State, Social Security cards issued by the Social Security Administration, and certificates of citizenship issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is under the jurisdiction of Department of Homeland Security. Trump’s order directed federal agencies to draft new instructions to guide federal officials on who should be excluded from receiving documents confirming citizenship.
The order could also impact applications for benefits such as child food assistance administered by the Department of Agriculture and health care services supported by Health and Human Services.
Trump’s order does not directly affect the granting of birth certificates, which are generally administered by states.
When does the order come into effect?
Trump gave federal agencies 30 days — until Feb. 19 — to draft instructions on how to deny citizenship to the categories of people he introduced. The order would only apply to people born on or after that date. If the courts intervene, implementation of the order could be delayed or even blocked altogether.
Does Trump have the power to do this?
Trump’s order depends on his ability to convince the courts to overturn a century and a half of judicial decisions by accepting his interpretation of a single clause of the 14th Amendment. “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 in which they reside.” The key phrase here is “subject to its jurisdiction.” Trump’s order directs agencies to consider people who are in the country on temporary visas or without authorization to be not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
Trump’s reading of the Constitution goes against established law, says Evan Bernick, associate professor of law at Northern Illinois University and co-author of The original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: its letter and spirit.
The amendment was first conceived in the aftermath of the Civil War by black activists and abolitionists. The Republican Party decided that it should be enshrined in the Constitution to protect the citizenship rights of former slaves and their descendants.
Bernick says the law was deliberately written to be broad and sweeping in scope. The exception to automatic citizenship provided by the phrase “subject to their jurisdiction” applies primarily to children of foreign diplomats, who enjoy diplomatic immunity and are not subject to U.S. laws. The wording was debated when it was drafted and the exceptions provided were intentionally narrow, Bernick says.
“Natural citizenship is a constitutional guarantee that has been established in Supreme Court doctrine for over 150 years. The Trump administration’s interpretation, he adds, ignores both “the meaning of the text of the 14th Amendment and the history of why that text is the way it is.” Nonetheless, the legal battle over Trump’s executive order is expected to end up before the Supreme Court.
