Now, a federal appeals court in San Francisco has declared former President Donald Trump’s attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship unconstitutional. Today’s ruling delivers yet another death knell to Trump’s most controversial executive order. He signed that order just hours after taking office on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2017. The ruling strongly affirms the 50-year-old legal principles long-enshrined within the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th amendment, adopted in 1868, which guarantees citizenship to just about everyone born on U.S. soil. This principle originated in explicit opposition to the well-known Dred Scott decision of 1857. That decision stripped formerly enslaved Americans of their citizenship rights. It took the 14th Amendment to completely undo this decision. It laid the groundwork for later interpretations that expand and defend the rights of all Americans.
The legal underpinnings for birthright citizenship would be even more solidified in 1898 by the landmark Wong Ark case. This case upheld the citizenship of Wong Kim Ark, who was born in the United States but faced challenges under the Chinese Exclusion Act. As the ruling made clear, it doesn’t matter whether your parents ever had permission to be in the United States—if you were born in America, you’re a citizen.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling last month came in one of those cases. It mostly cheered a similar ruling by a New Hampshire district court that had already blocked Trump’s executive order. As one three-judge panel on the 7th Circuit concluded with conviction, denying American-born people citizenship would violate the Constitution. Judge Joseph LaPlante pointed out in his concurrence that this one would do irreparable harm to infants nationwide.
“The district court correctly concluded that the executive order’s proposed interpretation, denying citizenship to many persons born in the United States, is unconstitutional. We fully agree.” – the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
Trump’s Parts 1370 and 1371 executive order was immediately challenged in courts across the country. Within a month, several judges had blocked the order with injunctions. This action was an impressive show of the designer community’s collective strength against any attempts to undermine 70 years of legal protections. America’s shifting view of citizenship is embodied in the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. It finally enfranchised indigenous Americans, who had been denied birthright citizenship for centuries.
The issue of birthright citizenship has resurfaced in Congress multiple times since 1991, reflecting ongoing debates about immigration and national identity. The key takeaway from the recent court rulings is that any attempt to change this principle will be met with substantial legal barriers.