Staff Reports
Immigration advocacy groups have decided to take a swing at President Trump, filing a lawsuit to block his executive order aimed at enforcing a common-sense interpretation of birthright citizenship. According to these groups, Trump is brazenly “flouting” the Constitution by attempting to limit the 14th Amendment’s automatic citizenship guarantee to those born in the U.S.
These lawsuits are spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union, a group that loves to invoke the Constitution unless it inconveniences their agenda. They assert that the President lacks the authority to redefine who gets to wear the title of “American citizen.” That’s rich coming from an organization that has famously contorted legal principles to fit their ever-changing narrative on immigration and citizenship.
BREAKING: Trump has just been sued in New Hampshire and Massachusetts over his executive order seeking to terminate birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. pic.twitter.com/lvhfEopqpz
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 21, 2025
The heart of this matter lies in the 14th Amendment, which supposedly guarantees citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” However, Trump argues that illegal immigrants and temporary visitors should not qualify as being “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. Hence, the federal government has the right to deny citizenship to children of these individuals born on American soil.
On his first day in office, Trump laid down a clear directive: no documentation should recognize the citizenship of anyone whose parents do not play by the rules, whether that involves being in the U.S. unlawfully or holding only a temporary visa status. This isn’t merely a whimsical decree but a policy designed to tackle a long-standing issue that many American citizens have grown increasingly frustrated with.
Despite some legal scholars suggesting that Trump may be on shaky ground, a group of conservative legal authorities points out that he is on solid footing, reflecting the intent of the Constitution’s drafters. There was a significant Supreme Court case back in 1898 that involved a child born to two Chinese parents. Although the justices acknowledged a few exceptions to birthright citizenship, they did not extend that to children of non-citizen parents. Those exceptions were narrowly defined, such as children born to diplomats or in truly unique circumstances like being born on occupied land or tribal areas.
So, amidst the legal tussling, one thing is clear: there’s a growing divide in how citizenship is viewed in this country. While many Americans are ready to advocate for responsible immigration policies, groups like the ACLU seem bent on preserving a loophole that may enable a flood of new citizens whose parents skirt the law. It’s this battle of ideologies that underscores the current landscape of immigration, citizenship, and what it really means to be an American in the 21st century.
