US4 min(s) read
Published 16:18 01 Apr 2026 GMT
If Donald Trump ends birthright citizenship, it won't just affect illegal immigrants.
After taking office as the 47th president, the 79-year-old signed an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.
Under the new order, children born to parents who are "unlawfully present" in the country or on temporary visas - such as tourist, student, or work visas - would no longer be eligible for US citizenship, Al Jazeera reported.
This is a major shift from the 14th Amendment, which has guaranteed automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. since its ratification in 1868.
The most obvious group affected by this change would be children born to undocumented immigrants.
According to Pew Research, in 2022, approximately 1.2 million U.S. citizens were born to undocumented parents, but under the proposed order, these children would no longer automatically receive citizenship.
This could leave them unable to claim citizenship and possibly facing deportation with their parents.
Another group affected is children born to legal immigrants on temporary visas, including H-1B visa holders, tourists, students, and workers.
These children would also lose their birthright citizenship, denying them a benefit many families expect.
While this change would not directly impact children of US citizens born abroad - as they can claim citizenship through their parents - it adds to the ongoing debate about who should be considered a legitimate American citizen.
Critics worry this policy could lead to future restrictions on citizenship for children of U.S. citizens living outside the country.
Attorneys general from 22 U.S. states, many of them led by Democrats, have filed lawsuits to stop the order.
They have argued that birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and cannot be undone by presidential decree. "The president cannot, with a stroke of a pen, write the 14th Amendment out of existence," New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a US citizen by birthright and the first Chinese American elected attorney general, added: "The 14th Amendment says what it means, and it means what it says - if you are born on American soil, you are an American. Period. Full stop.
"There is no legitimate legal debate on this question. But the fact that Trump is dead wrong will not prevent him from inflicting serious harm right now on American families like my own," he said.
The lawsuits also argue that the change would affect families who are already vulnerable.
The Supreme Court began hearing arguments in the birthright citizenship case on Wednesday (April 1).
According to The Independent, Trump attended the hearing and left in the middle of oral arguments. This marks the first time a sitting president has participated in Supreme Court arguments.
The justices will decide whether Trump can change who qualifies for American citizenship after he signed an executive order attempting to deny automatic citizenship to children born to certain immigrant parents.
Before attending the hearing, the president made his stance clear on Truth Social: "Birthright Citizenship is not about rich people from China, and the rest of the World, who want their children, and hundreds of thousands more, FOR PAY, to ridiculously become citizens of the United States of America. It is about the BABIES OF SLAVES!
"We are the only Country in the World that dignifies this subject with even discussion. Look at the dates of this long ago legislation - THE EXACT END OF THE CIVIL WAR!
"The World is getting rich selling citizenships to our Country, while at the same time laughing at how STUPID our U.S. Court System has become (TARIFFS!). 'Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!'" he added.
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