By: Ashmar Mandou
On Day 1 of his second term, President-elect Donald Trump vows he will end birthright citizenship, but many are claiming it may prove challenging due to what the 14th Amendment says. Birthright citizenship means anyone born in the United States automatically becomes an American citizen. It’s been in place for decades and applies to children born to someone in the country illegally or in the U.S. on a tourist or student visa who plans to return to their home country.
“Let’s be clear: Trump is posing the question of who gets to be an American to our nation. And given that today’s migrants are from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin and Central America, it is clear he is questioning who are the “right” people to benefit from birthright citizenship. Questioning birthright citizenship is anti-American, and eliminating it through executive action is unconstitutional. Donald Trump knows that. But emboldened by a Supreme Court that would use its power to uphold white supremacy rather than the constitution of our nation, Trump is on a mission to weaken the very soul of our nation,” said Congressman Delia C. Ramirez.
The 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War to secure U.S. citizenship for newly freed black slaves. It later was used to guarantee citizenship to all babies born on U.S. soil after court challenges. The citizenship clauses of the 14th 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.” The second sentence contains two of the most important clauses in the Constitution, the due process and equal protection clauses. They apply to everyone in the U.S., not just citizens: “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
“ ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.’ It is important to remember who we are, where many of us came from, and why many of our families traveled here to be greeted by the Mother of Exiles, the Statue of Liberty. The story of our nation wouldn’t be complete without the sweat, tears, joy, dreams, and hopes of so many children of immigrants who are citizens by birthright and pride themselves on being Americans. I — like many sons and daughters of immigrants and first-generation Americans — believe in and fight for a land of freedom, opportunities, and equality. To live into that promise, we must stand against white nationalism — especially when it is espoused at the highest levels of government.” Congressman Ramirez, alongside the Latino Caucus, and organizations, such as the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights vow to protect the Latino immigrant community.
