The American Civil Liberties Union has swiftly condemned President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to dismantle birthright citizenship, arguing that the new executive orders are legally baseless and destined for defeat in court. This latest move comes just five weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a similar order issued by the president last year, sparking accusations from civil rights advocates that the administration is attempting a futile end run around judicial precedent.
Cody Wofsy, the deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, stated that the matter has already been settled by the highest court in the land. According to Wofsy, birthright citizenship is fundamentally guaranteed by the Constitution and cannot be altered or erased through a simple executive directive. He warned that any effort to rewrite these protections will inevitably face the same legal fate as previous attempts.
The current orders specifically target those labeled as birth tourists, directing federal authorities to deny entry to foreigners who travel to the United States for the express purpose of giving birth on American soil. In explaining his reasoning, President Trump offered an interpretation of the 14th Amendment that critics have described as wildly inaccurate, continuing a crusade against anchor babies that he first publicized during a 2015 campaign stop in Florida.
For more than a decade, Trump has maintained an obsessive focus on eliminating this right, often dismissing claims that such a change would require a constitutional amendment. However, given that birthright citizenship has been firmly established since 1868, legal experts suggest that these newest mandates are less likely to hold up under scrutiny than ever before.
