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Quick Take
President-elect Donald Trump has called for an interpretation of the 14th Amendment that would deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents in the country illegally. That has prompted some on social media to wrongly speculate that under such a policy, Trump’s son Barron might not be a U.S. citizen because his mother wasn’t a citizen when he was born in New York.
Full Story
During his recent campaign, President-elect Donald Trump proposed measures to restrict immigration, including ending automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, as we’ve written. It was a promise that Trump first made as a candidate in 2016, but failed to deliver as president.
In a 2023 campaign video, Trump reiterated his intention to challenge the 14th Amendment, which states that “all persons” born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens.
“As part of my plan to secure the border, on Day One of my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship,” Trump said in the video.
Now, posts on Threads wrongly imply that under Trump’s immigration proposal his youngest son, Barron, would not have been born a U.S. citizen.
“Baron Trump was born March 20, 2006. Melania became an American citizen July 28, 2006. Soo…….. She was not a citizen when he was born. Sooo. 3 Baron was not born to an American mother.. Doesn’t that go against his immigration laws?” reads the Nov. 17 post, which misspells the name of Trump’s youngest child.
The posts falsely imply that Barron, born to a mother who had not yet become an American citizen, might not qualify as a U.S. citizen, even though he was born in New York City. The 14th Amendment says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.”
That amendment was part of Reconstruction after the Civil War to guarantee civil and legal rights to slaves. But, as we have written, the Supreme Court has ruled that birthright citizenship applies to anyone born in the United States, including those born to parents who are not U.S. citizens.
“Since Barron Trump was born in the U.S., and neither of his parents is/was a diplomat with diplomatic immunity when he was born, he is unquestionably a U.S. citizen under the 14th amendment,” Robert B. Scott, an immigration attorney based in New York, told us in an email.
Scott added that even if Barron had been born outside the U.S., he would still qualify as a U.S. citizen at birth under section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which sets the citizenship requirements for those born abroad. Under that law, at least one parent (in this case, Donald Trump) must be a U.S. citizen and must have lived in the United States for at least five years prior to the child’s birth abroad, including two years after the parent turned 14 years old.
“In other words, he would have been born a U.S. citizen regardless of his mother’s immigration status and regardless of where he was born,” Scott said.
In his video, Trump said the executive order would direct federal agencies to “require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” Barron’s mother, Melania, was a lawful U.S. resident at the time and became a naturalized U.S. citizen a few months later. His father, a U.S. citizen at birth, was born in New York.
But constitutional law experts have told us that Trump cannot change birthright citizenship without a constitutional amendment.
“The Constitution cannot be overridden by executive action,” Kermit Roosevelt, a constitutional law professor at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, told us. “Any such attempt would undoubtedly face legal challenges, and retroactivity wouldn’t come into play unless the Supreme Court fundamentally reinterpreted the 14th Amendment.”
Sources
Farley, Robert. “Trump’s Dubious Promise to End Birthright Citizenship.” FactCheck.org. 2 Jun 2023.
Gunter, Joel. “What is the Einstein visa? And how did Melania Trump get one?” BBC. 2 Mar 2018.
National Archives. “14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Civil Rights (1868).“
Donald Trump. “Agenda47: Day One Executive Order Ending Citizenship for Children of Illegals and Outlawing Birth Tourism.” donaldjtrump.com. 30 May 2023.
IMDb. “Barron Trump: Biography.” Accessed 19 Nov 2024.
Scott, Robert. Immigration attorney, New York. Email to FactCheck.org. 20 Nov 2024.
Roosevelt, Kermit. Professor for the administration of justice, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Email to FactCheck.org. 20 Nov 2024.
Johnson, Jenna. “Here are 76 of Donald Trump’s many campaign promises.” Washington Post. 22 Jan 2016.
U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Consular Affairs. “Obtaining U.S. Citizenship for a Child Born Abroad.” Accessed 21 Nov 2024.
Drabold, Will. “Watch Melania Trump’s Speech at the Republican Convention.” Time. 18 Jul 2016.
White House. “Donald Trump: The 45th President of the United States.” Accessed 21 Nov 2024.