Donald Trump has again attempted to undermine birthright citizenship with executive orders aimed at restricting eligibility for children born in the US to non-citizens. These orders follow previous efforts and legal challenges, including a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship.
These executive actions represent a significant attempt by the Trump administration to alter a fundamental aspect of US citizenship, potentially impacting millions of individuals and reigniting debates over immigration and constitutional law. The legal challenges are expected to test the limits of executive authority and the interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
Donald Trump has once again sought to curtail birthright citizenship in the United States through a pair of executive orders issued on Thursday. These orders aim to broaden the categories of children born in the U.S. to non-citizens who would be ineligible for automatic citizenship and to ban 'birth tourism'.
Trump's administration previously attempted to end birthright citizenship, with a plan first hinted at in 2015 and later pursued via an executive order in 2018. This 2018 order was ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court in June, with Chief Justice John Roberts stating it violated the 14th Amendment.
The current executive orders are expected to face legal challenges. Trump's long-standing focus on this issue has been a consistent theme in his political career, dating back to his questioning of Barack Obama's birthplace and later, Kamala Harris's eligibility. John Eastman, a lawyer who has argued that the 14th Amendment should not grant citizenship to children of non-citizens, has been a proponent of this view and was later disbarred for his role in challenging the 2020 election results.