A current hot topic in Congress is birthright citizenship. Congress is considering changing the 14th Amendment per the request of President Donald Trump in order to end birthright citizenship. This possible ruling is another attack on immigrants that will have catastrophic consequences for the American people.
The first problem America may run into if this ban passes, according to political experts, is the domino effect it would have on the economy. Trump’s entire rally on ending birthright citizenship is because, according to him and his supporters, immigrants are taking American jobs and committing heinous crimes. Neither of those claims is exactly true.
While immigrants do come to America and are hired for jobs, most of the time it’s jobs Americans don’t want, which makes it easy for them to secure employment. Agricultural, janitorial, and other low-wage jobs are usually occupied by immigrants in order to help them sustain their footing in America.
Second, the economy would fall further into debt due to the shortage of skilled labor. Beneficiaries of birthright citizenship noted that immigrants have contributed $7.7 trillion to the U.S. economy through their income between 1975 and 2074, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This includes a projected $1 trillion by future children not yet born. Their economic contributions would be most at risk if President Donald Trump’s executive order is upheld this June by the Supreme Court.
“Our working-age population is only growing through immigration today,” he said. A ban on birthright citizenship would diminish the working-age population even further, said Dr. Phillip Connor, research fellow at the Center for Migration and Development at Princeton University. “Future losses could be substantial if the policy changes. The labor force is expected to be shortened by 400,000 skilled workers, estimated Connor.
Dr. Julia Gelatt, associate director of the U.S. Immigration Policy Program at the Migration Policy Institute, said the proposed ban could expand, rather than reduce, the unauthorized population by creating generations of people born in the US without legal status.
“The unauthorized immigrant population would actually grow significantly by 2.7 million more over the next 20 years and 5.4 million more over 50 years,” she said.
She added that about 255,000 children per year could be born without legal status.
“The broader reality of this is that repealing birthright citizenship would create a self-perpetuating class excluded from social membership,” Gelatt said. She added that these children would face significant barriers throughout their lives.
“This means that kids would be growing up in the United States without access to Medicaid, to food assistance, to other public benefits,” Gelatt said. “They would have constrained access to higher education, and more importantly, they would grow up knowing that they aren’t able to work legally in the United States.”
Reuters/Ipsos conducted a poll on birthright citizenship, receiving close to 4,600 responses. The study revealed that 64 percent of Americans don’t support ending birthright citizenship, compared to 32 percent who favor eliminating it as President Donald Trump ordered in January 2025.
Political parties were divided on the issue, with only 9 percent of Democrats believing birthright citizenship should be terminated. However, Republicans are split on the matter, with 62 percent favoring an end to birthright citizenship and 36 percent supporting keeping it.