Trump Attacks What It Means To Be An American.

Donald Trump Signs An Executive Order Removing Birthright Citizenship.

Donald Trump Looks To Reporters As He Signs Executive Orders.

Continuing the trend of covering Trump executive orders that deserve the spotlight, our next will be his attempt to overturn birthright citizenship.

I say attempt as it is expected to be held up in court, as multiple states are already suing him for this decision, but I thought nonetheless its worth discussing what Trump would do if allowed.

First, lets discuss what birthright citizenship is.

What Is Birthright Citizenship?

Birthright Citizenship is, put simply, the idea that being born in a country is enough to establish you as a citizen of said country. Rather than some vague set of ideals being what makes you American, or “jus sanguinis” which is birthright by bloodlines.

Birthright citizenship originates from “jus soli” which began in British common law but is now practiced in virtually every nation-state in the western hemisphere.

It is codified through the 14th Amendment, which was first implemented to ensure African-Americans would be treated as equal citizens under the law. This was later expanded however, and upheld by the Supreme court, to also apply to the children of immigrants both documented and undocumented.

The first sentence of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment reads:

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 part that usually gets called into question, and we’ll get into this with Trump’s order, is the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” part. As for most people, they just aren’t sure as to what that is.

In layman’s terms however, it just means you are subject to the law or legal proceedings of a governing body within said territory. Which undocumented immigrants are, this is both upheld with Supreme Court precedence and in the law with ArtI.S8.C18.8.7.2.

Those who do not fit this description would be like foreign diplomats who are immune, or invading soldiers during war. For everyone else, it has long been established if you are born in America, you are an American citizen.

What Does Trump’s Executive Order Do?

Let’s first include what Trump’s order says specifically, then explain what it means. Important to note, this only applies to cases 30 days after Trump signed it and not retroactively. But it reads:

Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.

In short, this stands to remove birthright citizenship for those born to parents who are not citizens or permanent residents. As aforementioned, Trump hinges his argument largely on the “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” claiming those in the country unlawfully do not fit this requirement.

He even cites 8 U.S. Code § 1401 as part of his reasoning, which is odd considering this law expands on this in a way not favorable to his argument. Including ways children born outside of the US are still citizens, and that a child just “found” in the country with unknown origins could even be considered a citizen.

There are also multiple Supreme Court cases that weigh in on undocumented immigrants being subject to US jurisdiction.

Shaughnessy v. United States, Matthews v Diaz, and Plyler v Doe all uphold this. In fact, this has been a non-controversial issue for over a century.

Where We Are.

Fortunately, it looks like this will not stand and was done more for show. Over 20 states have already sued Trump for this executive order, as well as a Reagan-appointed judge blocking it at the federal level.

Make no mistake, this is bigotry. This is bigotry so brazenly portrayed in the open that Trump was willing to go against the constitution to do it. There is no required trait to be an American, this is one of the most beautiful parts of America. It’s what makes us a beacon of freedom.

The idea that anybody can come here, and despite what they look like, how they talk, or what they believe, if they work hard enough they can prosper.

Somehow we’ve fallen so far from this position. To now instead debating if this person of Haitian-descent that was born in America is really a citizen because their parents work visa expired 2 weeks before they were born.

Oh how the times have changed.