Sharing the Facts About Birthright Citizenship

The United States guarantees citizenship to all children born inside its borders, regardless of the citizenship status of their parents. This guarantee, known as birthright citizenship, was established by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It has been in place for more than 150 years.

Hours after returning to power, President Trump issued an executive order that attempted to withhold citizenship to some children born in the U.S. The order would deny citizenship to certain U.S.-born children, unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. No court has ever adopted the Trump administration’s position. It defies the Constitution and would have major consequences for states.

Multiple lawsuits challenging the order were quickly filed, including by attorneys general from 22 states, citing imminent harm to those born on U.S. soil that are the children of undocumented or temporary immigrants.

In the following months, federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington state each blocked the Trump administration from enforcing the order nationwide until the cases were resolved. The judge in Maryland wrote in her ruling that the executive order “conflicts with 125-year-old binding Supreme Court precedent,” citing the 1898 U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

On March 13, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to partially suspend the blocks during appeals. In the administration’s application to the justices, Acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris said that the blocks placed by lower court judges shouldn’t apply nationwide, but rather only to the individuals and states that sued.

On June 27, the Supreme Court ruled that nationwide injunctions by lower courts “likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts,” and said federal judges may only issue them when required to provide complete relief for parties in any given case.

However, the ruling did allow for class-action lawsuits that could have nationwide effects. Soon after the ruling, groups filed new lawsuits challenging the president’s order on birthright citizenship. On July 14, a federal judge allowed one of these lawsuits to proceed and blocked the president’s order from going into effect. On July 23, a federal appeals court determined that the executive order violates the Constitution.

The Supreme Court’s June decision did not rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. On Sept. 26, the administration appealed to the high court again, asking the justices to do that.

Here are some key takeaways about birthright citizenship and the executive order:

• The Constitution is clear. The U.S. guarantees citizenship to all children born inside its borders. Denying that right is not only unconstitutional, but against the very values and foundations of our nation laid out in the Constitution.
  • Attorneys general in states across the country are protecting their residents’ rights by challenging the executive order.
• The 14th Amendment states that every child born in the U.S. is considered equal under the law and entitled to full participation in our civic life and economy. That’s a foundational principle of our democracy, enshrined in law and upheld in the courts time and time again. And it’s a principle we must defend on behalf of all American people.
• The courts have a long history of upholding birthright citizenship. It’s guaranteed in the Constitution, after all.
  • The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that citizenship automatically applies to all children born in the United States, including the children of most immigrants. That’s a guarantee we’ve honored for a century and a half. The court has identified only a few extremely limited exceptions, such as children born to foreign diplomats.
• The states decide when we change the Constitution. The president can’t just rewrite it whenever he wants. The text of the 14th Amendment is clear. Changing birthright citizenship would require the consent of two-thirds of Congress and then ratification by at least 38 states. We have checks and balances in this country.
• State officials are busy doing the jobs the people elected them to do. This executive order would swamp both state officials, and taxpayers, with new burdens and divert critical state resources.
  • Under Trump’s order, millions of children would be ineligible for food and health programs that are available to all citizens and administered by the states. In each state, for each program, state officials would have to create new procedures and go through administrative hurdles to sift through who is and isn’t a birthright citizen. Meanwhile, large numbers of children could go hungry and be left without homes. Some states would also have to change the procedures they use for issuing birth certificates.
• This sweeping attempt to exclude U.S.-born children from citizenship, in violation of the 14th amendment, is an attack on the rule of law and the Constitution.