#birthright citizenship

[saywhat-politics]

President Trump has signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. — a right guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court more than 125 years ago.

Why it matters: Trump is acting on a once-fringe belief that U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants have no right to U.S. citizenship and are part of a conspiracy (rooted in racism) to replace white Americans.

The big picture: The executive order is expected to face immediate legal challenges from state attorneys general since it conflicts with decades of Supreme Court precedent and the 14th Amendment — with the AGs of California and New York among those indicating they would do so.

Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment was passed to give nearly emancipated and formerly enslaved Black Americans U.S. citizenship.

"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," it reads.

[proleposting]

And this is just over one of them.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Reuters, via The Guardian:

A swath of Democratic-led states and civil rights groups have filed the first lawsuits challenging executive orders Donald Trump signed after taking office, including one that seeks to roll back birthright citizenship in the US. A coalition of 22 Democratic-led states along with the District of Columbia and the city of San Francisco filed a lawsuit in federal court in Boston on Tuesday arguing the Republican president’s effort to end birthright citizenship is a flagrant violation of the US constitution.

That lawsuit followed a pair of similar cases filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, immigrant organizations and an expectant mother in the hours after Trump signed the executive order, marking the first major litigation challenging parts of his agenda since he took office. “State attorneys general have been preparing for illegal actions like this one, and today’s immediate lawsuit sends a clear message to the Trump administration that we will stand up for our residents and their basic constitutional rights,” the New Jersey attorney general, Matthew Platkin, said in a statement. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lawsuits, which were all filed in federal courts in Boston or Concord, New Hampshire, take aim at a central piece of Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, an order directing federal agencies not to recognize US citizenship for children born in the United States to mothers who are in the country illegally or are present temporarily, such as visa holders, and whose fathers are not citizens or lawful permanent residents.

More lawsuits by Democratic-led states and advocacy groups challenging other aspects of Trump’s agenda are expected, with cases already on file challenging the Elon Musk-led, ill-defined “department of government efficiency” and an order the Republican signed weakening job protections for civil servants. Any rulings from judges in Massachusetts and New Hampshire would be reviewed by the Boston-based 1st US circuit court of appeals, whose five active federal judges are all appointees of Democratic presidents, a rarity nationally. The complaints cite the US supreme court’s 1898 ruling in United States v Wong Kim Ark, a decision holding that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are entitled to US citizenship. If allowed to stand, Trump’s order would mean more than 150,000 children born annually in the United States would be denied for the first time the right to citizenship, according to the office of the Massachusetts attorney general, Andrea Joy Campbell.

22 Democratic AGs, DC, and the city of San Francisco, CA sue over 47’s tyrannical and unconstitutional executive order ending birthright citizenship.

[starkwlkr]

Elon Musk doing a n*zi salute, Trump declaring he will change the Gulf Of Mexico to the Gulf Of America, ending birthright citizenship, ICE raids starting.

Birthright citizenship is protected under the U.S constitution. This is a slap in the face to all the hardworking immigrants who come to America for a better life for them and their families.

As of now, I’ve seen videos and posts that ICE will begin raids in Chicago. To all my immigrant friends in Chicago, stay safe and know that you have rights in this country.

I’m scared for these next four years. I’m scared for my friends and family, for the people of color, for the LGBTQ community, for the future.

To the Latinos for trump people, remember that you voted for this. You vote will cause so much damage to families. I don’t support all Latinos, some of you are insufferable.

I know I have made several posts about politics, but you have to understand that for me, it has always been politics. My family is going to be affected by all these changes. I hope the day never comes when I get a phone call from a loved one saying my uncle or aunt got taken away by ICE.

Here’s some cities that are going to have ICE raids in the upcoming days:

Stay safe everyone ❤️

America is the land of immigrants!

[indecisiveavocado]

a whole new level of awful: donald trump directly contradicts the constitution, potentially turning presidents into kings

Yesterday, Donald Trump directly contradicted the Constitution in an executive order.

Wait, what's an executive order?

An executive order is a direction by the President to agencies, often legally binding. They're often quite boring. The first executive order issued this year (2025) was establishing a chain of succession in some obscure office.

Executive orders are common, but not incredibly so. Since 1937, the most prolific president in absolute terms was FDR, with 2023, and the least prolific Biden, with 160. If you account for the varying numbers of years, the most prolific was still FDR, with around 252 per year, and the least prolific Obama, with around 35 per year. That's not a huge number.

The critical thing about executive orders is that there is no congressional process. None. They are made by the President's whims, and can be used to effectively pass laws that could not be passed otherwise. For instance, Executive Order 9066, by FDR, established the Japanese-American internment camps. Congress did not review this; the only way to challenge it was via the courts. Similarly for Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Executive Order 12127, by Jimmy Carter, established FEMA. Other executive orders have prohibited discrimination in the federal and sometimes civilian workforce, established the Peace Corps, created the National Labor Relations Board, and, much more recently, banned travel from many Muslim-majority countries to the US as part of Trump's Muslim ban. Again, there is almost no oversight. The only way to fight this is via the courts.

What does this one say, and how does that contradict the Constitution?

This executive order states, effectively, that if someone is born in the US but has a parent who is undocumented, they are not a US citizen. This directly contradicts the Fourteenth Amendment, which states "All persons born...in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States".

What are the consequences of this if it's allowed to stand?

If it is allowed to stand, it will have two far-reaching consequences that will change American democracy and turn into, effectively, a kingdom.

The first change is based on the fact that executive orders would now be elevated above the Constitution, thus meaning any executive order Trump signs--and remember, there are no restrictions on these--would be law.

The second change would be that there would be no recourse. There would be no way to fight back against it save by appealing to the goodness of his heart (of which, of course, there is none), because, after all, what appeal can be made? If it's above the Constitution, it's also above any other law that might be invoked to show it's illegal. In other words, if upheld as legal, this executive order would elevate executive orders, and with them the President, to the unchallengeable supreme law of the land.

It would turn the president--right now that's Trump, God save us all--into a king.

Will it be allowed to stand?

I don't know. The Supreme Court has shown some slight backbone, but overall it has pretty much yielded to Trump. Unless two or more typically conservative justices--so two of Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, or Barrett--stray from Trump's party line, that order will probably be upheld. I don't think they'll do so; after all, doing so would basically remove their power. But I'm not as confident as I'd like to be.

Basically, our democracy's continuation is now in the hands of six awful people.

Is there anything I can do?

Not really. I mean, yes, lobby, call your congresspeople, mail them angry letters, support your local library, all that jazz. But honestly, there isn't so much you can do when it's at this scale. (Unless, of course, you're Trump or a Supreme Court justice. In which case, hi, please stop this!) Just knowing about it and sharing that knowledge will help.

[davidaugust]

From a good thread on just how bad it is for _every_ American that the 14th Amendment is under attack.

[beauty-funny-trippy]

Trump is eager and ready to destroy something etched into the Constitution: birthright citizenship. This right is enshrined in the 14th Amendment: Anyone born in the United States of America is a U.S. citizen, regardless of where their parents are from. It has been a bedrock constitutional law for over 150 years. Now, Trump is issuing an executive order to end it, with the express and sole purpose of targeting children of undocumented immigrants. Whether Trump can actually end birthright citizenship is unknown. He’d need either a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate to repeal the Amendment (along with ratification by three-quarters of the states), or the Supreme Court could uphold his order. Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time the courts have reinterpreted the law, molding it into Trump's image. Trump has, in the past, called for "the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution." Apparently, he has decided to chip away at our Constitutional rights, one amendment at a time, one clause at a time, until there is nothing left.

[springacres]

That would require them realizing the Constitution is more than just word salad.

They can't pass any gun control because it goes against the constitution.

But they can revoke the citizenship of people who were born here, which goes against the constitution.

They never cared about the constitution.

[saywhat-politics]

The 18 blue states, along with the District of Columbia and city of San Francisco, contend that Trump’s order steamrolls the Constitution.

A coalition of 18 Democratic-led states, along with the District of Columbia and the city of San Francisco, sued Tuesday to block President Donald Trump’s attack on the long-established principle of birthright citizenship.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, is the second major legal challenge to Trump’s attempt to stop the country’s automatic recognition of citizenship for the U.S.-born children of non-citizens. Immigrant rights advocates filed a separate lawsuit in the U.S. District of New Hampshire Monday night.

[liberalsarecool]

Republicans can not live by, nor defend, the Constitution, so they will try to negate the founding document in favor of fascism.

The 'enemy within' is a Republican projection.

[psychiatricmentalhealthfacility]

Search for Psychiatry Psychiatrist Psychiatric Mental Health Facility on the Planet Earth - Time Travel Crime - Violent Crime - Witness Intimidation and Evidence Tampering or Concealment - Non-Voters Labelled as Artificial or Proven Criminals

[reading-writing-revolution]

(via The Coming Assault on Birthright Citizenship - The Atlantic)

If the end of birthright citizenship makes its way into law, Amanda Frost writes, “it will upend the lives of millions, and create a caste system in which a new set of people—native-born non-Americans—can never work or live in the open.”