Birthright Citizenship has been one of the many rights targeted by the Trump administration, as immigration policy, and civil rights—even more so—during his second term. American Community Media (ACoM) held a briefing on Friday, April 10, to discuss the issue after an oral hearing about Birthright Citizenship, in which Trump attended, on April 1.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order denying U.S. citizenship to children born to undocumented parents and “lawful but temporary” residents, including students, certain types of workers from abroad, and tourists, on Jan. 25, 2025. That was the day he took office for his second term.
The Supreme Court is anticipated to render a decision in June after hearing oral arguments against Birthright Citizenship on April 1, which was also a notable day as Trump is the first sitting president to visit in person, despite Justices appearing skeptical of the administration’s arguments for a ban.
“One of the things that is at stake in this executive order from the president is… returning more to a sense that this country is really not for everyone, but only for a relatively few,” said Dr. Hiroshi Motomura, a Susan Westerberg Prager Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law. He added, “This case before the US Supreme Court, I think, is one of the most monumental and important cases that the court has seen in modern history.”
Birthright Citizenship not only affects the Latin community, but it also affects the African American and Asian American communities. For African Americans specifically, by way of the 14th amendment, which was created in 1868 to grant citizenship to formerly enslaved people in Southern States, it established that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens of the nation and their state–a protection of civil rights.
“For many families, the message from this executive order… is that even if you come legally, even if you work hard… your children’s future here may still be uncertain,” said Xiao Wang, CEO/co-founder of Boundless Immigration.
Panelists suggest that Trump left out the economic effects the ban on citizenship can cause right along with creating an underclass of children born who will be born in the US but not have citizenship status, which is detrimental as seven states in the US are currently considering legal ramifications that would ban unauthorized children from attending public schools. A 1982 Supreme Court decision that ensures all children, regardless of immigration status, get a free public school education is challenged by such legislation.
“Without Birthright Citizenship, we would have a much bigger pool of children in the United States who, if Plyler v. Doe were also repealed, could be excluded from the public education system,” said Dr. Julia. She further added, “We can imagine a lot of negative consequences if children are barred from school… Most immediately, the question is, what are children doing all day? School is not only a really important source of learning for the future but also a really important source of daycare for working parents… And then the longer‑term impact is having a large population that’s not well educated and is not prepared to contribute as much as they could to the workforce.
Wang also said, “Immigrants make up only 5 percent of the overall rural workforce but 14 percent of physicians and surgeons in rural America… So if you think about what those consequences mean… the first places to feel it will be these rural hospitals already struggling to recruit.”
The American workforce may also be impacted as the country will need workers who are nurses, doctors, and caregivers, especially as Americans age. Panelists suggest it is a domino effect that simply is not fully thought out.
“If Birthright Citizenship… were to stand, we would see some major impacts into the future… a potential loss of that $1 trillion as well as the potential loss of about 400,000 workers in higher occupations, in terms of those that would require, typically, some college,” said Dr. Phillip Connor, who is a research fellow for the Center for Migration and Development at Princeton University. He further added more insight, “”If we think labor shortages exist today, only imagine how that would be even more magnified when you remove millions of potential workers in the future that won’t have access to that workforce.”