Before the Inauguration celebrations began on Monday, incoming White House officials announced that President Trump would be revising the immigration policies implemented by the Biden administration, which have provided extensive protections for undocumented immigrants.
On Monday evening, President Trump sat at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and signed a series of orders aimed at safeguarding American citizens from the challenges of the previous administration. A notable Executive Order that is expected to stir controversy, possibly leading to numerous legal challenges, is one that changes the existing interpretation of “birthright citizenship.”
RELATED: CONFIRMED: Trump Will Sign EOs Today Sending Military to the Border and Ending Birthright Citizenship
The new order asserts that the “Fourteenth Amendment has never been understood to grant citizenship automatically to all individuals born in the United States” and focuses on two specific situations:
Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.
The 47th president seemed a bit weary during the signing process, but he was also defiant, saying, “People have wanted to do this for decades.”
Donald Trump just signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants.
This is one of the most important issues he can pick a fight on. It will be challenged immediately, and we need to stand with him every step of the way in this fight. pic.twitter.com/cnAafJcgVC
— Christian Heiens 🏛 (@ChristianHeiens) January 21, 2025
During their pre-Inauguration briefing on the president’s plans to upend the country’s policies on illegal immigration, Trump officials said the federal government would cease to recognize children born in the United States to illegals “on a prospective basis.” This likely signals their recognition that courts are going to get involved with the matter, and likely very soon.
President Trump addressed the possibility of this moving to the courts, saying it could face a legal challenge, but “we think we have good grounds.” He continued:
It’s ridiculous. We’re the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know. And it’s just absolutely ridiculous, but we’ll see. We think we have very good grounds. People have wanted to do this for decades.
PROTECTING THE MEANING AND VALUE OF AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP
EXECUTIVE ORDER
January 20, 2025
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose. The privilege of United States citizenship is a priceless and profound gift. The Fourteenth Amendment states: “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.” That provision rightly repudiated the Supreme Court of the United States’s shameful decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), which misinterpreted the Constitution as permanently excluding people of African descent from eligibility for United States citizenship solely based on their race.
But the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Consistent with this understanding, the Congress has further specified through legislation that “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is a national and citizen of the United States at birth, 8 U.S.C. 1401, generally mirroring the Fourteenth Amendment’s text.
Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.
Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.
(b) Subsection (a) of this section shall apply only to persons who are born within the United States after 30 days from the date of this order.
(c) Nothing in this order shall be construed to affect the entitlement of other individuals, including children of lawful permanent residents, to obtain documentation of their United States citizenship.
Sec. 3. Enforcement. (a) The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Commissioner of Social Security shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the regulations and policies of their respective departments and agencies are consistent with this order, and that no officers, employees, or agents of their respective departments and agencies act, or forbear from acting, in any manner inconsistent with this order.
(b) The heads of all executive departments and agencies shall issue public guidance within 30 days of the date of this order regarding this order’s implementation with respect to their operations and activities.
Sec. 4. Definitions. As used in this order:
(a) “Mother” means the immediate female biological progenitor.
(b) “Father” means the immediate male biological progenitor.
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 20, 2025.
SEE ALSO:
Promise Kept: With the Stroke of a Pen, President Trump Issues Mass Pardons for J6 Defendants
Goodbye to WHO – Trump Signs Executive Order Withdrawing US From World Health Organization
