“You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”
Thank you, Mr. President, I’ll take it from here.
This iconic quote came from the 40th president of the United States at a ceremony honoring the recipients of the coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom way back in 1989.
Although I disagree with former President Ronald Reagan on most of his political policies and presidential decisions, this is a sentiment I can most definitely get behind.
The notion that anyone, regardless of ethnic ancestry, can come to this nation and become an American is more important to remember now than ever before. On day one of his second term in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would essentially end birthright citizenship.
Trump’s decision is not only constitutionally illegal but also immoral and nonsensical, as hundreds of thousands of legal Americans could lose pivotal resources and rights due to their parents’ immigration status.
The executive order was one of several dozen Trump signed on January 20 in front of thousands at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. As he put thick black Sharpie to paper, he held up the folders filled with said orders with a toothless grin. But following this “ceremony,” legal scholars and democratic leaders quickly pointed out the glaring issues regarding his attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S.
One of the most basic qualms many had with this order was the Fourteenth Amendment, which states “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” protects all those born within the confines of the U.S. regardless of their parental immigration status or personal past. Therefore, many are now arguing the order is simply unconstitutional.
Because of the outrage, a coalition of democratic state attorneys general has filed a federal lawsuit attempting to stop President Trump and his administration from proceeding with their unlawful attempts to undermine the Constitution. The lawsuit states, “about 150,000 children born each year to two parents who are noncitizens and lack legal status could lose access to basic health care, foster care, and early interventions for infants, toddlers, and students with disabilities.”
This slimy attack on the children of immigrants not only solidifies what many already knew about the current president but also showcases the lack of empathy and understanding that many modern conservatives have when dealing with such a complex and multifaceted issue like immigration.
Other political organizations and authors have chimed in on this issue, claiming our fight to prevent this order from becoming a reality is already showing the unsettling ways our political system is created and defended.
Author Thomas Wolf of the Brennan Center for Justice echoed this idea when he recently claimed, “[w]hen we ratified the 14th Amendment, we rejected the idea that some people born here are less than others in the eyes of the law. We reject that idea again today. We say that out loud — for everyone to hear — because protecting our Constitution requires us to speak and act like we still have one. No matter what kinds of orders might come off a president’s desk.”
Almost two weeks ago, a federal judge temporarily blocked the executive order, which would have gone into effect on the 19 of February. However, three different federal judges will hold hearings on the case at hand later this week. And despite this temporary hold-up, several lawyers with the Department of Justice have already argued that the Trump administration’s push to end birthright citizenship is possibly within the realm of legal understanding.
According to ABC News, those previously mentioned legal professionals have implied that “birthright citizenship creates a ‘perverse incentive for illegal immigration’ while claiming that Trump’s executive order attempts to resolve ‘prior misimpressions.’”
Regardless of these claims, the fight to stop the Trump administration from continuing to attempt to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. will most likely continue to rage on for several months. But if we as concerned citizens truly believe in compassion and upholding our democratic principles, then we must demand our leadership to do something about it, or else thousands will suffer for no other reason than that their parents were born in the wrong place and time.