The effort to revise how the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is interpreted was one of Donald Trump’s most significant initiatives at the start of his second term. The objective was to end automatic citizenship for children born on American soil.
This initiative, however, ran into opposition from the Supreme Court, which ruled against his administration. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) welcomed the decision, describing it as a reaffirmation of one of the basic principles of the American state. “No matter who your parents are, if you are born in the U.S., you belong to this country,” the ACLU said in its response.
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Trump had long attacked birthright citizenship, labeling it “a disgrace.” Along the same lines, Vice President JD Vance had called it “the most misguided immigration policy in the world.”
Although the Supreme Court’s ruling leaves the current legal framework unchanged, specialists stress that the heated debate around this issue has created uncertainty.
Kim Lane Scheppele, a professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University, said that the very fact this issue has been called into question has made even people who have spent their entire lives in the U.S. feel more insecure about their status.
According to her, the Trump administration has intensified citizenship checks and has created a special office within the Justice Department for denaturalization cases. For years, Trump has presented ending birthright citizenship as one of the main pillars of his immigration policy, claiming that the practice encourages illegal immigration.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is a blow to one of his administration’s most important immigration pledges.
Despite this, analysts believe the “America First” policy is not expected to change course, as Trump has shown that he intends to press ahead with tough measures against illegal immigration and with restrictions on the entry of refugees into the U.S.
