➤ President Donald Trump signed an order saying that children born in the US won’t be US citizens if their parents were here illegally. The order goes against the US Constitution, and is being challenged in court.
On January 20, US President Donald Trump signed an order saying that children born in the US will no longer become US citizens if their parents were here illegally. The order goes against the US Constitution, and is being challenged in court.
For over 150 years, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution has said that anyone born in the US is a citizen. This is called “birthright citizenship”.
Mr. Trump says he wants to change that. He doesn’t want the children of people who are in the country illegally to become US citizens. He also wants to prevent pregnant women from coming to the US to give birth just so that their babies can become US citizens.
Mr. Trump’s order says that the government should not give citizenship to babies who are affected by his new rules.
But because birthright citizenship is part of the Constitution, it’s not something that Mr. Trump can change by himself, even as president.
The order has already been challenged in court by 22 states, as well as other groups. So far the order has been blocked by four US government judges.