The United States of America has consistently stood as a beacon of hope, aspiration, and freedom for newcomers and those who hold the right of citizenship. Dating back to the mid 19th century when the fourteenth amendment was ratified, all individuals born in the United States were at last guaranteed the rights of citizenship if born in the country and subjected to all due process laws. Not only was this amendment a significant advancement in our country’s national policy, it created the fundamental values that our country still holds to this day. Under the current presidency of Donald J. Trump, however, birthright citizenship has become a matter of recent controversy; and the constitutionality of the potential banning of this right hangs in the balance.
On the day of his inauguration, January 20th, 2025, President Trump issued an agenda titled ‘Agenda 47’, which entails various new formal policy plans and executive orders. Some of his plans include the implementation of tariffs, mass deportation of illegal immigrants, and finally, the banning of birthright citizenship in America. This potential ban would invalidate the American citizenship of children born to undocumented immigrants who reside in the country; it would furthermore require one parental figure to be a legal citizen in order for their children to be granted citizenship.
Nearly two months after taking office, President Trump took his request to the Supreme Court, the highest court in our federal judiciary. If approved, this executive order would go into effect across the country, challenging federal rights, changing American public policy, and ultimately displaying the president’s executive power.
The publicity this appeal is receiving is mainly due to the fact that many critics believe that the ban of birthright citizenship directly goes against the claims made in the fourteenth amendment of naturalization and citizenship, as well as equal protection of liberties.
Adding on to these implications, Ms. Marrion, an AP World History teacher at Archbishop Mitty, states Moreover, she mentions, “I think the underpinning of all the other freedoms is the Fourteenth Amendment.”
In response to the debate over the constitutionality of President Trump’s plan, Ms. Marion also explains that President Trump has expressed the desire to deny citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants, which constitutional experts say would go against the Fourteenth Amendment.
The President’s hasty intervention through the Supreme Court has caused heads to turn in the states of Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington. Many judges in those states have voiced their concern on this ban, and have voted to block his executive order. In fact, according to CNN, a judge in Maryland stated that this violation of federal rights “runs counter to our nation’s 250-year history of citizenship by birth.” The backlash that President Trump is facing from government officials, local courts, and the public makes the outcome of his appeal seem predictable: limited support from courts.
Outlawing birthplace-based citizenship dramatically changes the scope of our nation’s fundamental values and laws. It would immensely impact the lives and rights of those wishing to start afresh, those who either have parents who are undocumented or solely own green cards.
The U.S. Constitution serves as the basis of our country’s government and the people’s rights and liberties. To jeopardize that, compromise the current lives of countless residents, and start a cascade of unnecessary conversation over a granted right is the real immorality in this controversy. Regardless of whether the ban is enacted, this proposition will forever spark uncertainty about the legitimacy of American national policy.