The Daily News

Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his term to end birth right citizenship. An executive order is a written directive, signed by the president, that orders the government to take specific actions to ensure “the laws be faithfully executed.” It might mean telling the Department of Education to implement a certain rule, or declaring a new policy priority. Executive orders, however, cannot override federal laws and statutes (ACLU.org) . With an executive order, the president can’t write a new statute, but an order can tell federal agencies how to implement a statute. For example, Congress can declare a certain drug legal or illegal. But with an executive order, the president can tell the Department of Justice if prosecuting certain drug cases is a priority or not.

The Constitution has a set of checks and balances written into it so that no one branch of the government is more powerful than the other. The president can’t use an executive order to sidestep those checks and balances, and the president can’t take over powers from other branches, such as the power vested in Congress to pass new statutes or in the courts to invalidate certain laws as unconstitutional (ACLU.org). Executive orders can be stopped through judicial review (courts declaring them unconstitutional or unlawful), legislative action (Congress passing a law to override or defund them), or by a subsequent president revoking them. They are considered legal only if rooted in the Constitution or authorized by Congress (American Bar Association).

 In fact, as new estimates from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and Penn State’s Population Research Institute show, repeal would significantly swell the size of the unauthorized population—now and for generations to come. So what this means is that this executive order will not stop illegal births. It will just grow the illegal immigration which would lead to the detainment of these children. The administration has argued that limiting birthright citizenship is necessary to rein in illegal immigration. Opponents argue it would upend more than a century of precedent and unravel a cornerstone of US immigration law BBC).

Trump floated the prospect of ending birthright citizenship during his first term in office, but he encountered resistance even within his own party. Trump did not give up on the idea, and on the first day of his second term he signed an executive order, Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, to do so. The order ended birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, as well as those of immigrants who are in the United States legally but temporarily – for example, on a student or work visa.

Whether you like Trump or not, some studies show that this executive order will be turned down, while others are saying there is a high percentage that it will be passed. As of early 2026, the U.S. Senate Democratic majority has confirmed 200+ judges to lifetime appointments under President Biden. While the Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority (3 Democratic appointees) (https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/). Challenges to the executive order followed around the country. The first federal judge to weigh in on the legality of the executive order, Senior U.S. District Judge John Coughenour of Seattle, called it “blatantly unconstitutional.” Other judges followed Coughenour in blocking the Trump administration from enforcing the order. Many are saying that the birthright citizenship is stated in the 14^th constitution, which means that opponents of the order claim that the constitution defines who’s a citizen, not President Trump.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in Trump v. Barbara, a nationwide class action brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of New Hampshire, ACLU of Maine, ACLU of Massachusetts, Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and the Democracy Defenders Fund on behalf of children who would be denied citizenship under an executive order issued by President Trump. Following a Supreme Court hearing where his arguments faced tough questioning, Trump called it “catastrophic” and posted on Truth Social, “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!”.

We will not get a decision until late June or early July. Write your member of congress exactly what you think!