A federal judge has temporarily stopped President Donald Trump’s executive order that would end birthright citizenship in the U.S. This means that children born in the country would no longer automatically be U.S. citizens if their parents are not citizens.
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour made this decision after several states—Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon—filed a lawsuit. They argue that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees that anyone born in the country is a citizen. This amendment has been understood in this way for over a hundred years.
Trump signed the executive order on his first day in office, and it was supposed to start on February 19. If it had gone into effect, it could have affected many children born in the U.S., particularly those whose parents are living in the country without legal permission. In 2022 alone, around 255,000 children were born to mothers who were undocumented immigrants, according to the lawsuit.
The U.S. is one of about 30 countries that grant citizenship to anyone born on their soil, a principle known as “jus soli” or “right of the soil.” Countries like Canada and Mexico also follow this rule.
The lawsuits emphasize that the 14th Amendment clearly states that anyone born or naturalized in the U.S. is a citizen. It was ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and says: “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.”
Trump’s order claims that children of noncitizens should not be considered under U.S. jurisdiction and tells federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for children unless at least one parent is a citizen.
A significant Supreme Court case from 1898 involved a man named Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrants. The Court ruled he was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the country. Some people who support stricter immigration laws argue that this ruling only applies to children born to legal immigrants, not those born to parents who are undocumented.
The executive order sparked personal stories from state attorneys general, some of whom are U.S. citizens by birthright. For example, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, who is the first Chinese American elected to that position, expressed that the lawsuit is very personal to him. He stated, “There is no legitimate legal debate on this question.”
One lawsuit includes a pregnant woman named “Carmen,” who has lived in the U.S. for over 15 years and is waiting for her visa application to be approved. The lawsuit argues that taking away citizenship from children is a serious harm and denies them the full rights of being part of U.S. society.
