President Donald Trump on Monday signed a slew of executive orders following his inauguration, including one that ends birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants in the United States.
Since 1868, people born on American soil were recognized as US citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, regardless of the immigration status of their parents.
Trump's order would make it so that children born in the country but without at least one parent who is lawfully a permanent resident or a US citizen would no longer automatically be extended US citizenship. The law applies to undocumented migrants as well as those on temporary visas (foreign students or tourists).
The executive order also effectively bars federal agencies from providing or recognizing documents proving US citizenship for such children, per The Guardian.
How Would Ending Birthright Citizenship Impact Americans and Immigrants in the United States?
Ending birthright citizenship would significantly increase the size of the unauthorized immigrant population, which is contrary to its intended purpose. Washington Atty. Gen. Nick Brown said Trump's new executive order could make 150,000 children born each year undocumented migrants.
"It would render them undocumented at birth. It could even render them citizens to no country at all," he said, as quoted by The New York Times.
Other estimates suggest that the undocumented population could balloon from 11 million today to 16 million by 2050 if citizenship is denied to children with two unauthorized immigrant parents. It could grow to a further 24 million if birthright citizenship is denied to children with even one unauthorized parent, according to the Migration Policy.
What Happens Now?
Trump's executive order does not take effect for 30 days. However, 22 states have since filed lawsuits challenging the order in the Federal District Court in Massachusetts and the Western District of Washington. They argue that neither Trump nor Congress has any constitutional authority to revise birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed a lawsuit against Trump's order Monday night.
Ending birthright citizenship is one of the many executive orders the president signed after being sworn in. He also ordered the mass deportation of undocumented migrants, barred immigrants from staying in the country while their immigration cases played out, and shut down a program that allowed immigrants to make advance appointments with the US Customs and Border Protection.
