As part of his anti-immigrant agenda, Trump has issued an executive order to end birthright citizenship as we know it. If it takes effect, this reckless decision will strip tens of thousands of U.S.-born babies of their citizenship and their constitutional rights in this year alone.
Where does it stand now? Well, dozens of states have since filed lawsuits against the executive order, compelling a federal court in Seattle to stop implementation — but the ultimate fate of birthright citizenship will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Learn More About Birthright Citizenship
At a recent town hall, we brought together movement leaders from Stop AAPI Hate, ACLU, and Indian American Impact to answer questions many of us have around Birthright Citizenship. You can access a recording of the town hall or visit our Birthright Citizenship FAQ to learn more.
In the meantime, the Trump administration’s malicious attack on birthright citizenship continues to spread fear, anger, and confusion across immigrant communities. That includes the 3.6 million Asian Americans who are either undocumented, seeking asylum, or are in the U.S. on student and work visas (e.g., H-1Bs).
Since the 1800s, birthright citizenship has remained a critical pathway for Asian immigrants to establish roots and build thriving futures for their families in the United States. That means Trump’s executive order threatens the very idea that Asian people have a place in the United States, and could disenfranchise our communities for generations to come.
Keep reading for more on what birthright citizenship is, why the Trump administration is attacking it, and what’s at stake for Asian Americans and all immigrant communities.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A BIRTHRIGHT CITIZEN?
Every child born on American soil is a U.S. citizen — regardless of their parents’ race, nationality, or immigration status. This fundamental right is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which says that “all persons” born in the United States are automatically citizens.
For over 150 years, the 14th Amendment has protected the rights of American children — regardless of their race, ancestry, or parents’ immigration status. Even when racism and xenophobia threatened the very existence of immigrant families and communities of color, the promise of birthright citizenship has ensured that no power-hungry politician can decide who deserves to be a citizen and who doesn’t.
1857
In the infamous case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people and their descendents could not be U.S. citizens because the country’s founders considered Black people an “inferior class of beings.” As a result, Scott and four million other Black people were denied citizenship.
1868
After the Civil War, the U.S. ratified the 14th Amendment, which overturned the Dred Scott ruling and affirmed that any child born in the U.S. is a citizen. It’s because of the 14th Amendment that all children are born with equal rights and opportunities in this country.
1895
Wong Kim Ark, a San Francisco-born cook, was returning from a trip to China to visit family when he was detained at the border. Immigration officials argued that he was not a U.S. citizen because his parents were not. Wong filed a federal lawsuit in protest.
1898
In the landmark case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruled in support of Wong, affirming that any child born in the U.S. is a citizen regardless of their parents’ immigration status. His case guaranteed that future generations of U.S.-born children with immigrant parents would be recognized as full fledged Americans.
1924
Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, finally recognizing birthright citizenship for Native Americans. Before 1924, citizenship was considered on a case by case basis and depended on each person’s marital status, ancestry, and tribal membership.
1945
During World War II, the U.S. government not only incarcerated Japanese Americans — including many U.S. citizens — but also robbed birthright citizenship from more than 5,500 second-generation Japanese Americans. Some of them were deported to Japan, a country most of them had never known.
As Trump and his loyalists continue their racist and anti-immigrant crusade, the 14th Amendment is a critical reminder to immigrant families that we still live in a country where our race, ancestry, or immigration status does not determine our our humanity — and no executive order can change that.
HOW DO ASIAN AMERICANS BENEFIT FROM BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP?
Birthright citizenship has made it possible for generations of immigrants to put down roots in America and raise families here without fear for their future.
Today, the U.S. is home to millions of people, including countless Asian Americans, who are descended from immigrants and would not have legal status or equal rights today if it wasn’t for birthright citizenship.
With the right to participate fully in American society as citizens, Asian Americans are more visible and better represented — and the nation is stronger for it.
- News Anchor Connie Chung, Vice President Kamala Harris, and U.S. Gymnast Sunisa Lee are among the millions of Asian Americans who have benefited from birthright citizenship.
- There are even birthright citizens in Trump’s cabinet. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Second Lady Usha Vance are birthright citizens. So are Mehmet Oz (his choice for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator) and Kash Patel (his choice for FBI Director).
- Not all Pacific Islanders benefit from birthright citizenship even if they are born in U.S. territories. For example, people born in American Samoa are not citizens but “U.S. nationals” — a status that prevents them from voting, running for office, and holding some government jobs like law enforcement.
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP WERE REVOKED?
A generation of U.S.-born children would be vulnerable to deportation. Tens of thousands of babies born into immigrant families would not have citizenship. Growing up, they would be treated as an inferior subclass and be denied access to critical protections and services, including food assistance and affordable healthcare. And without status in the United States, they could be deported with nowhere to go.
People of color would face a dramatic rise in racial profiling and hate. Anti-immigrant hate and anti-AAPI racism have always been intertwined, as AAPI people are often assumed to be immigrants. That means our communities and other groups of color will be vulnerable to racial profiling and hate-fueled attacks. In fact, it’s already happening.
- A man in Colorado attacked Ja-Ronn Alex, a Pacific Islander journalist native to Detroit, Michigan, and shouted, “This is Trump’s America now!”
- Posters from the Ku Klux Klan were posted across neighborhoods in Chattanooga and Cleveland, Ohio. The posters called out immigrants and told them to “self-deport” to avoid detention.
- Over Inauguration weekend, a mural in Seattle’s Japantown commemorating Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, was vandalized with black paint and Bible verses.
- A Texas substitute teacher posted on social media calling on ICE to raid Northside High School, claiming students “don’t even speak English.”
- The Oklahoma State School Board proposed a new rule that, if approved, would require families enrolling children in Oklahoma public schools to provide proof of citizenship.
Generations of Asian Americans would be disenfranchised. The end of birthright citizenship will undermine the political power of future generations of Asian Americans. Fewer of us will have the right to run for office, vote, and make critical decisions on behalf of Asian communities. The same will be true for Black, Latino, and other immigrant communities of color.
WHAT IS BEHIND TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP?
Trump’s motivating factor behind the executive order to end birthright citizenship is racism, plain and simple. Racism is also behind the administration’s cruel plans to revive and expand the Muslim travel ban, revoke student visas for progressive activists, roll back family-based immigration, and deport or detain tens of millions of immigrants.
By trying to end birthright citizenship, Trump and his far-right backers have embraced what has long been a core belief of white supremacist groups: that citizenship is for white people and white people alone. It’s the same core belief that justified the infamous Dred Scott decision and fueled the exclusion of Chinese and other Asian people for decades.
Trump and other senior administration officials — including Tom Homan (Border Czar), Stephen Miller (Deputy Chief of Staff for Immigration Policy), and Elon Musk (head of the so-called U.S. Department of Government Efficiency) — have close ties to white nationalists. In fact, the Southern Poverty Law Center has listed Stephen Miller, the architect of Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, on their list of far right extremists.
The president himself has promoted the far-right’s “great replacement theory” — which falsely claims that people of color and Jewish people are plotting to weaken the influence of white people in the United States. His attack on birthright citizenship is just one example of how white nationalist ideas are making their way into U.S. immigration policy.
The bottom line is: Trump and his team of far-right extremists want to remake the United States into a hostile nation for people of color and other minorities — and they are willing to deport, detain, and disenfranchise as many immigrants as it takes to bring their sinister vision to life.
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP PROTECT BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP?
Contact your representatives. Urge them to use their congressional powers to condemn Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, delay its implementation, and uphold our constitutional rights. To get started, use our advocacy form.
For generations, birthright citizenship has protected immigrant communities. Trump’s attempt to chip away at this right sets a dangerous precedent, opening the door to erode this vital protection for all future generations.
It’s crucial for Congress to hear directly from constituents. Your voice can make a real impact. We need to stand together against this attack on birthright citizenship, immigrant families, and our shared values.
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