Birthright Citizenship In The US: Trump’s Executive Order And The Growing Debate

What Is Birthright Citizenship?

Citizenship worldwide is primarily determined by two principles: jus soli, or the "right of soil," which grants citizenship based on birth location, and jus sanguinis, or the "right of blood," which is based on one's familial descent. The U.S. has traditionally adopted both: anyone born on U.S. soil (except children of foreign di🎐plomats) automatically becomes a citizen, while children born abroad to American parents are also granted citizenship.

The legal foundation for birthright citizenship in the U.S. was established by the 14th Amendment, which was primarily intended to grant legal status to former slaves. The issue began with the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which denied citizenship to African Americans, even if t🤡hey were free. The decision famously stated that "A free negro of the African race, whose ancestors were brought to this country and sold as slaves, is not a ‘citizen’ within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States." This ruling helped ignite the Civil War. W﷽ith the North’s victory over the South, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, granting citizenship to all, including Black Americans.

The 14th Amendment states: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” It further states that no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities𓆏 of U.S. citizens. Over time, the right to citizenship has been upheld for various oppressed groups after extensive legal battles.

Details Of Trump’s Executive Order 

The executive order, issued on January 20, outlines the criteria for claiming birthright citizenship. It specifies that if one parent is “unlawfully present in the United States” and the other is neither a citizen nor a lawful permanent resident, the child will not qualify for birthright citizenship. It adds that if a parent is in the U.S. temporarily on a visa (such as a tourist, student, or work visa) and the other parent is not a U.S. citizen, the child will n𝐆ot be eligible for citizenship. 

Since his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has been rallying  against birthright citizenship. In his 2024 campaign, he promised that, if re-elected, he would end birthright citizenship on the first day of his second term, which he insisted was “based on a histori🗹cal myth and a willful misinterpretation of the law.”

The order aligns with his hardline stance on immigration. Supporters of the policy argue that birthright citizenship acts as a “magnet for illegal immigration” and  that it encour𒊎ages undocumented pregnant women to cross the border to give birth. This practice is ofꦐten referred to as “birth tourism” or “anchor babies.”

Trump and his supporters also point to the 14th Amendment’s language about being "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. to argue that birthright citizenship should not extend to people who entered the country illegally, nor to t🅷heir children born on U.S. soil. They argꦆue that if lawmakers wanted all people born in the country to be citizens, they would not have added this clause.

The 1898 Ruling That Shaped Birthright Citizenship

The issue with the "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" clause was clarified by the Supreme Court in one of the most critical cases in the history of birthright citizenship, which took place in🤡 1898. The Cou๊rt ruled that Wong Kim Ark, born to Chinese immigrant parents, was a U.S. citizen because he was born in San Francisco.

The Court’s majority held that the clear language of the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to the son of Chinese nationals born in the U.S. Wong had traveled to China but was denied reentry due to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which🔯 severely restricted Chinese immigration and prevented Chinese immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens.

By siding with Wong Kim Ark, the Court made it explicit that the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment automatically grants citizenship to all U.S.-born people ꦯregardless of their parents’ status.

The only remaining uncertainty was whether Native Americans could be excluded from citizenship because they were under the jurisdiction of their own tribal nations. In 1924, Congress resolved this by passing 🐎the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted full U.S. citizenship to Native Americans.

Does Trump Have The Power To End Birthright Citizenship?

Likely not, and certainly not through an executive order. The🧸 14th Amend💙ment’s citizenship provision cannot be undone by executive action alone. To amend the Constitution, both chambers of Congress would need to approve the change with a two-thirds majority, and it would require ratification from at least three-quarters of the states. The Constitution hasn’t been amended since 1992.

Gerald Neuman, an expert in immigration and nationality law, told that the Constitutio🥂n is clear: “Those born on American soil, 🌊even to undocumented parents, are citizens of the United States.”

“The president of the United States ❀has no authority to change citizenship rules at all,” he added.

Trump’s order would rely on convincing the courts to overturn more than 150 years of legal precedents by accepting his interpretation of a specific clause in the 14t✅h Amendment. The legal fight over Trump’s executive order is widely expected to end up at the Supreme Court.

Trump’s order was first challenged on January 23 when a judge in Seattle heard arguments from four states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—opposing the move. 🃏The judge, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional” and ordered it to be halted for 14 days. "It boggles my mind," Judge John Coughenour said.

Soon after, Trump's order was contested in court by 22 states🌸 and the District of Columbia, who filed a ꦇlawsuit in Massachusetts, arguing that the order violated the 14th Amendment, overstepped Congressional powers, and breached immigration and administrative law. Immigration advocacy groups also joined the legal effort to block the order.

Impact Of Trump’s Order 

In 2018, estimated that 250,000 children of undocumented immigrants were born in t๊he U.S. as of 2016 (down from 390,000 in 2007). While the current figure remains uncertain, the number of births to people with temporary legal status adds tens of thousands, potentially bringing the total affected by Trum♛p’s order to around 300,000 people. This would represent about 8 percent of all births annually (3.6 million in 2023). Over time, this could increase the population of undocumented immigrants.

The U.S. workforce includes over 30 million immigrant workers. Of these, 22.2 million are on legal work visas, while 8.3 million are unauthorised. Trump's order would aff🌠ect all visa categories, as the U.S. offers 14 types of work visas.

Birthright Citizenship Around The World

According to World Population Review, in 2024, at least 33 countries have birthrig💫ht citizenship, predominantly in North America and Latin America. The United States and Canada are the only two "developed" countries, as defined by the International Monetary Fund, that still have unrestricted birthright citizenship laws.  That said, birthright citizenship is less common in other regions of the world.

In India, Article 5 of the Constitution original🧸ly granted birthright citizenship to those born before the Constitution’s adoption. The Citizenship Act of 1955 extended this right to all children born in India after January 26, 1950, with exceptions for children born to foreign diplomats or enemy aliens. 

Hღowever, in 1986, the Act was amended to limit citizenship to children of Indian citizens, which ended birthright cit𝕴izenship in India. In 2003, the Act was amended again which excluded children born to illegal immigrants from gaining citizenship.