Can Trump end birthright citizenship?
The President wants to scrap automatic citizenship for babies born on US soil

President Donald Trump has again suggested his administration is working towards ending birthright citizenship, a constitutional right that grants citizenship to all children born in the US, regardless of their parents’ nationality.
Speaking to White House reporters on Wednesday, Trump said: “We’re looking at birthright citizenship very seriously.”
“Birthright citizenship, where you have a baby on our land – walk over the border, have a baby, congratulations, the baby’s now a US citizen… it’s frankly ridiculous.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, many prominent politicians – including Republicans – are adamant that the President does not have the power to abolish the right, says The Independent.
Trump first brought up the idea of scrapping birthright citizenship during his 2016 presidential campaign, branding it “a magnet for illegal immigration”, reports Time.
He suggested it again ahead of 2018 US midterms. “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years,” the president claimed, incorrectly, in a TV interview with Axios in October. “It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”
What is birthright citizenship?
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right that automatically grants citizenship to children born in the US. There are around 30 other countries that also operate this system.
The 14th Amendment of the US constitution states that: “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Critics argue that the amendment attracts illegal immigrants to the US to have so-called anchor babies, who as US citizens can later apply for legal status for their entire families, says The Wall Street Journal.
Could Trump abolish it?
The president said he had discussed the matter with legal counsel who advised him that he could end birthright citizenship by executive order.
“It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment,” he said in 2018. “Guess what? You don’t.”
But most legal experts agree it would take a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship, something which would require Congressional approval.
“The president cannot erase the Constitution with an executive order,” Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project,” told The New York Times last year.
This is a “transparent and blatantly unconstitutional attempt to sow division and fan the flames of anti-immigrant hatred,” he said.
Any attempt to redefine the terms of the 14th Amendment to remove the right of birthright citizenship is likely to meet stiff resistance in the courts, Bloomberg reports.
“Many scholars, including some prominent conservatives, say the issue is settled,” the news site says.
Among them is John Yoo, a former Justice Department official during the George W. Bush administration, who said that courts have been explicit on the matter.
“Anyone born on American territory, no matter their national origin, ethnicity or station in life, is an American citizen,” he said.
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
‘The illusion of wealth can encourage people to take on more debt’
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?
Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying
-
‘Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Venezuela: Does Trump want war?
Feature Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug cartel and waging a narco-terrorism campaign against the United States
-
Two years on, a Gaza truce may be in sight
Feature Israel and Hamas consider the U.S.’ 20-point peace plan exchanging hostages for prisoners