Trump’s America: No room for illegals The 14th Amendment in crosshairs

Donald Trump, the newly elected 47th President of the United States, plans to deport immigrants residing in America illegally within his four-year term. Exceptions will be made only for "Dreamers" — immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Trump announced this during an interview aired on NBC News. The mass deportation of undocumented immigrants will commence on January 20, when the new president officially takes office.

The right to citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It states: "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." There is only one exception to this provision: birthright citizenship does not apply to children of accredited foreign diplomats in the U.S., as these individuals represent their home countries, and their children are expected to be born there, not in America.

Trump emphasized that he considers the automatic granting of citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, absurd and intends to end this practice through an executive order. However, the 14th Amendment is so deeply entrenched in the Constitution that it cannot simply be removed. To achieve this, Trump would need to undertake a comprehensive reform of the legal framework by issuing new orders.

Will he succeed? According to experts, Trump's attempts to revoke birthright citizenship are likely to face significant legal challenges. This right is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and has been upheld by a Supreme Court precedent since 1898.

Introducing any new amendments to the Constitution is one of the most challenging tasks for politicians in the United States. It requires not only a large majority in Congress but also the approval of two-thirds of the states — 38 out of 50. This is something Trump certainly cannot achieve through executive orders alone.

Republicans are open to considering Trump’s idea that the 14th Amendment should not apply to children of undocumented immigrants. They argue that birthright citizenship should be reserved only for children whose parents are either U.S. citizens or permanent residents. A protective agreement will later be proposed for those already affected.

However, this discussion goes beyond just “illegal immigrants.” It also includes children of immigrants who have neither proper documentation nor the legal right to reside in the U.S. According to the Migration Policy Institute, there were 4.7 million such children in the United States in 2019 — 7% of all children living in the country. Research indicates that the vast majority of these children are not born while their mothers are pregnant upon arrival. The Pew Research Center estimates that five out of six children were born in the U.S. at least two years after their mothers arrived.

Trump and his allies have already coined a term for such children, calling them “anchor babies.” The idea is that “illegals” give birth to children who automatically acquire U.S. citizenship, which can later be used to grant citizenship to their parents. However, critics of the president-elect argue that children of undocumented immigrants can only sponsor their parents for citizenship once they turn 21.

The proposed future head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, and the prospective Deputy Chief of Staff at the White House, Stephen Miller, stated on Fox News that Congress must significantly increase funding for immigration enforcement. According to estimates by the American Immigration Council, deporting all undocumented immigrants over more than a decade would cost $88 billion annually.

What can we expect from Trump now? He will undoubtedly move forward with implementing his plan for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, a cornerstone of his campaign platform. Trump has also suggested that U.S. citizens with undocumented family members may have to make a difficult choice. “I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team is already challenging birthright citizenship in court, arguing that the 14th Amendment should be reinterpreted to reflect the realities of modern America.

By Vusala Azimzade