United States President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aiming to repeal birthright citizenship, a privilege protected by the US Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court more than 125 years ago.
On Monday, Trump announced a flurry of executive steps to begin changing federal immigration and border policy, many of which are likely to face serious legal challenges.
“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I intend to do,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
According to CBS News, the US government has traditionally understood the US Constitution to indicate that all children born on American soil are citizens at birth, regardless of their parent’s legal status.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State in which they reside.”
However, Trump directed federal agencies to stop issuing passports, citizenship certificates, and other documents to children born in the United States to mothers who are illegally present in the country and fathers who are not citizens or legal permanent residents, as well as to mothers who are on temporary visas.
Trump stated that his directive, which would not apply retrospectively, will be enacted in 30 days. However, only hours after it was released, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy organizations launched a complaint challenging the action in federal court.
