President Donald Trump believes that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants citizenship to all individuals born in the United States, should not apply to children born to immigrant parents.
According to the 47th president of the United States, the Founding Fathers never intended for this part of the Constitution to include immigrants. Instead, he argues, they were specifically thinking of former slaves who were forcibly brought to the U.S. from Africa. “The Founding Fathers are turning in their graves,” Trump declared on Sunday, as his attempt to abolish birthright citizenship for children of undocumented parents faced yet another legal setback.
Last Thursday, a fourth federal judge blocked the executive order that the president had signed on his first day in the White House, News Nation reported.
Trump insists that he respects the 14th Amendment, while his opponents accuse him of violating its very essence.
“The 14th Amendment’s right to American citizenship was never meant for the ‘modern-day intruders’—illegal immigrants who break the law by being in our country. It was all about granting citizenship to former slaves,” he wrote on Truth Social, according to News Nation. Trump went on to say, “Our Founding Fathers are turning in their graves at the thought that our country could be taken from us. No other country in the world operates this way. Our lawyers and judges must stand firm and protect America!”
The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The Trump administration argues that children of non-citizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and, therefore, are not entitled to citizenship.
The United States is one of about 30 countries that follow the principle of jus soli, or birthright citizenship, which grants nationality automatically to anyone born on its soil. This principle is particularly common in the Americas, where countries such as Canada and Mexico also apply it.
The issue of birthright citizenship deeply divides Americans.
While supporters see it as a fundamental pillar of American history and values, opponents like Donald Trump consider it a legal loophole exploited by illegal immigration.
The legal battle over this issue is far from over, and the final decision may ultimately be made by the U.S. Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a solid majority of six justices against three Democrats. Supreme Court rulings are decided by a simple majority of five justices. It takes only four of the nine justices to agree to hear a case for the Court to take it up.
