Since 1868, the 14th amendment has protected the citizenship of those born within the borders of the United States and its territories. 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”. This protects the rights of those born in a nation that their family is not native to.
On the first day of his second term of presidency, Donald J. Trump signed an executive order that limited the accessibility of the 14th amendment. He signed in to order that for a child born on U.S. soil and be a U.S. citizen, one of the child’s biological parents must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident. This means that federal agencies must deny passports and social security numbers to children born in the U.S. without parents with citizenship or permanent residency. This includes those whose ancestors came to America as slaves.This would cause them to lose their citizenship and rights given to them by the United States of America.
The American Immigration Council states on their website that the 14th amendment “ensures equal treatment under the law, prevents statelessness, strengthens communities, and reflects our nation’s highest ideals. Protecting birthright citizenship means protecting the idea that everyone belongs—and that our future is stronger when we uphold equality for all.”
The abolishment of birthright citizenship would lower rates of illegal immigration, birth tourism, strain on social services, and lead to more secure immigration.. The abolishment would lower rates of illegal immigration and birth tourism by defeating the purpose of crossing a national border between countries to gain citizenship for their children, legally or illegally. It would also induce less stress on social services because there would be less children in foster care, the education system, and in student debt. This would also lower taxes on citizens. Along with all of these benefits, the annulment of the 14th amendment would provide a safer immigration process through ability to provide background checks before citizenship and reduction of the dangerous risk many families take by illegally crossing the national border.
There are many different sides of this topic with many different lenses to see through. Overall, the United States of America is about unity and safety from whichever political stance you are.
https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/about-immigration/birthright-citizenship/
https://www.state.gov/making-america-safer-ending-illegal-immigration
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/
