President Donald Trump stated that he expected at least five U.S. Supreme Court Justices to agree with his argument, that the amendment on birthright citizenship in the Constitution was intended solely to protect the rights of slaves and not “the entire world.”
Trump’s first day as president saw him issue an executive order that ended birthright citizenship to children born of immigrants in the United States illegally. A federal judge blocked the order soon after.
USA Today reports that Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believes the Supreme Court is going to side with him and will win his case.
According to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution approved in 1868: “All persons who are born or naturalized within the United States of America, and under their jurisdiction, are citizens both of the United States of America and the state where they reside.”
Trump claimed that the amendment is for children of former slaves and that this makes it “good” and noble, but he added that it doesn’t apply to immigrants.
He said: “This wasn’t meant for everyone to pile in the United States of America with children and people who are unqualified. This wasn’t intended for that.”
U.S. district judge John Coughenour said Trump’s orders were “blatantly illegal.”
“Frankly I find it difficult to understand how a lawyer could state unambiguously that this order is constitutional. Coughenour said to Trump’s attorneys last week while blocking the order: It just boggles me.”
Trump’s executive order states that undocumented immigrants who give birth in the United States after February 19 will no longer be considered U.S. Citizens. This order also applies to babies who are born to mothers in the United States legally but temporarily, such as tourists, university students, or temporary workers.
Six lawsuits have been filed by activist groups, pregnant mothers, and 22 states to stop this executive order.
According to precedent, the amendment was interpreted for many years to cover all babies born in America, except those who were born on reservations to Native Americans or foreign diplomats accredited in the United States.
Brett Shumate, an attorney for the federal government, has argued, however, that Trump’s birthright citizenship order is “absolutely constitutional”.
He stated that undocumented migrants “remain under the control of a foreign power”, and “have no allegiance” to the United States.
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