That Ain’t How It’s Supposed to Work! No Pen Can Undo the 14th: Trump’s Failed Attack on Birthright Citizenship
Trump’s Executive Order on Birthright Citizenship: Why It’s a Constitutional Non-Starter
What Happened:
On day one of his second term, President Trump tried to pull the rug out from under a core American principle: if you’re born here, you’re a citizen. His executive order told federal agencies to stop recognizing U.S.-born kids as citizens if their parents were undocumented or just visiting. No passports. No Social Security numbers. No rights. The order was set to kick in for babies born 30 days after it was signed.
Why It’s Illegal-and Why the Courts Slammed the Brakes:
The 14th Amendment couldn’t be clearer:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
This isn’t just legalese-it’s the product of a hard-fought battle after the Civil War to guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved people and anyone else born on U.S. soil. The Supreme Court locked this down in 1898 (United States v. Wong Kim Ark): if you’re born here, you’re in. Doesn’t matter if your parents are citizens, green card holders, or undocumented-if you’re born in the U.S., you’re a citizen.
Trump’s order? Judges across the country called it “blatantly unconstitutional” and blocked it before it could go anywhere. No president gets to erase a constitutional right with a stroke of a pen.
What “Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof” Really Means:
Some try to twist this phrase to mean “only if your parents are here legally.” That’s not how the authors saw it, and it’s not how the courts have read it for more than a century. “Jurisdiction” means you’re born here and have to follow U.S. laws-so, basically everyone except kids of foreign diplomats or enemy soldiers. That’s it. If you’re born on American soil, you’re under U.S. jurisdiction, period.
How Real Change Would Happen-If It Ever Did:
If you want to change the Constitution, there’s only one way: a constitutional amendment. That means two-thirds of both houses of Congress have to agree, and then three-quarters of the states have to ratify it. It’s intentionally hard-because changing fundamental rights shouldn’t be easy or impulsive.
Legal vs. Illegal and Unconstitutional Ways to Change Birthright Citizenship
MethodCan It Change Birthright Citizenship?Executive OrderAbsolutely notRegular Law from CongressNopeConstitutional AmendmentYes-but good luck getting that passed
Why This Fight Matters:
The 14th Amendment’s promise was meant to end the shameful era when people born in America could be told they weren’t really American. It was a direct response to the Dred Scott decision, which said Black people could never be citizens. The whole point was to make citizenship automatic and untouchable for anyone born here.
Trump’s executive order was blocked because it tried to do what the Constitution flat-out forbids. In a system that works, presidents respect constitutional rights, and if they don’t, the courts step in fast. That’s exactly what happened here-and it’s a reminder that some American values are supposed to be above politics and presidential whims.
Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.
League of Women Voters of Bloomington, MN
