On his first day in office, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order attacking birthright citizenship, the constitutional right giving automatic citizenship to any person born in the states. While many say Trump’s call to reevaluate this American principle is strictly an attack on illegal immigration, the controversial order has many Americans scared... and for good reason.
In fact, the debate over birthright citizenship dates back centuries to American slavery. The infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857 decision ruled that Black people could not be U.S. citizens, but little did the Supreme Court know their ruling would set the stage for the Civil War.
After the war ended, three amendments were added to the Constitution granting citizenship and righting the wrongs of slavery’s past. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are known as the “Reconstruction Amendments,” but what happens if one or all of them get stripped from American history?
Trump Taking a Page From a Previously Closed Book
No U.S. president has ever gone after the 14th Amendment before, but Trump’s birthright citizenship attack isn’t the first time this amendment has been under fire. Ironically, 2025 marks 30 years since a similar bill was proposed in Congress.
The Citizenship Reform Act of 1995 aimed to get rid of automatic citizenship for U.S. born children of non-citizen parents. The bill was supported by Republican leaders like former Rep. Elton Gallegly, but surprise, surprise... it never passed.
The bill would have amended the Immigration and Nationality Act, but the real issue was it violated the 14th Amendment, making it simply unconstitutional. The amendment’s Citizenship Clause says citizenship is not based on race or parentage, but rather on place of birth. So with that, the 1995 attempt to rewrite the Constitution was killed, but now it seems Trump is trying to revive the failed crusade.
How Will Removing the 14th Amendment Affect Americans?
Let’s be clear, according to the U.S. Constitution birthright citizenship is absolutely guaranteed. And more to that point, any amendments added to or removed from the Constitution must be made by Congress, and never by the president.
But even then so, Trump’s order has opened a can of worms for citizens and non-citizens alike on what the country will look like without the guarantee of birthright citizenship. The country already distrust the White House’s continued handling of immigration, but without the 14th Amendment, Black people, Hispanic people, and anyone else that could be considered “not American enough” will likely face further discrimination and violence against them.
So... Now, What?!
Trump is already catch heat over his attempt to rewrite the Constitution. So far, over 22 states have taken legal action against Trump’s executive order, according to PBS. And more states, cities, activists, and politicians are expected to file their own suits.
Walter Dellinger, a lawyer who testified against the 1995 Citizenship Reform Act, said “To adopt such an amendment would not be technically unlawful, but it would flatly contradict our constitutional history and our constitutional traditions,” according to The New York Times.
Dellinger added “From our experience with Dred Scott we had learned that our country should never again trust to judges or politicians the power to deprive from a class born on our soil the right of citizenship.” The 157-year-old Amendment has lasted this long, but the future of such an important piece of American history remains unclear.
In the announced executive order, Trump said his mandate will take effect in 30 days.