River Jean-Noel | Assistant News Director
On Inauguration Day, President Trump declared war on ending birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens.
According to the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, “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.”
This amendment grants anyone born in the U.S. automatic citizenship. Trump wants to redefine the clause, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” to make it so that the U.S. can deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to undocumented parents.
Immediately, several states lined up to defy this order, and joined a lawsuit against Trump.
California, New York, Arizona, and 19 other states have declared this unconstitutional and have publicly announced their disapproval.
FIU founding law professor, Ediberto Roman, is a 14th Amendment scholar who specializes in immigration and birthright citizenship. “The birthright citizenship issue should not even get to the Supreme Court, this is blatantly unconstitutional, patently so. Birthright citizenship was recognized under the Founding Fathers as well as even England, before the U.S.’s founding,” said Roman.
“The 14th Amendment states in plain writing if you’re born in the United States, you’re a citizen. Under any way you look at it from a legal standpoint, it’s unconstitutional,” he added. “This court, more than any other, has been attacked on a host of grounds for acting politically, such as with Roe v. Wade.”
Being a legally recognized citizen allows for easier access to education, travel and healthcare among other benefits.
In Miami Dade County, approximately 54% of the population was born outside of the U.S. At FIU, 3,500 students are international, and about 67% of the student population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.
While specific statistics are unknown about the immigration status of those students’ parents, a large portion of FIU’s student base are U.S. citizens born to immigrant parents.
When asked about how he felt hearing the news, Bryan Borge, a Computer Science major, said, “I’m not sure if he is actually trying to end birthright citizenship. I don’t think I’ve seen an actual source on that, but if he is, I feel negative about it because immigrants have worked hard in this country to give their kids a better life.”
Borge went on to say, “I think we should keep [birthright citizenship] because it positively influences immigrants and gives them an incentive to work hard in this country and contribute to our society. From personal experience, not having citizenship can make planning for your future complicated because you’re always afraid of your status and travel freedom.”
While the situation is continuously developing, it is worth reporting that any proposed changes, should they pass, will affect future generations and will not be retroactive.
Most recently, federal district court judge John C. Coughenour blocked the order from taking effect for 14 days.
Conor Moore contributed to the reporting of this article.