Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has put an end to birthright citizenship in America.
On Monday night, Trump signed an executive order that eliminates birthright citizenship, a right that has been guaranteed by the US Constitution and upheld by the Supreme Court for over 125 years.
Traditionally, the US government has interpreted the Constitution to mean that anyone born on American soil is automatically granted citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says, “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
However, Trump’s executive order instructs federal agencies to stop granting passports, citizenship certificates, and other documents to children born in the US to parents who are in the country illegally or are not citizens or legal residents.
This new policy, which will not be retroactively applied, is set to be enforced within 30 days of its announcement.
But just hours after it was issued, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the action in federal court.
