Document Type

Blog Post

Publication Date

3-2-2026

Abstract

On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order seeking to drastically limit birthright citizenship—a longstanding constitutional principle under which individuals born in the United States automatically acquire citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. While many supporters of President Trump commended the order as a necessary protection against illegal immigration, constitutional law scholars on both sides of the political spectrum did not share this enthusiasm. The executive order was widely understood to conflict with the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which codifies statutory protections for birthright citizenship.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on March 2, 2026. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

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