Trump ends birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants

US President Donald Trump, within hours of delivering his energising inauguration speech, signed a flurry of executive orders. One of the prominent ones was the order to end birthright citizenship under ‘Jus Soli’ for children born to people living in the country without authorisation, parents not holding US citizenship or are on temporary work, student or tourist visas.

The order declares that the administration will cease to grant automatic citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to immigrant parents without authorisation, unless at least one parent is a US citizen. During his first term, Trump had similar plans but was not able to implement them.

Donald Trump, 78, was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. He marked his return to the White House after departing in defeat.

Based on the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, children born in the US automatically became a US citizen. The new order mentions that babies born in the US 30 days after the order takes into effect will not be qualified for US citizenship under the conditions: (i) When the mother is undocumented at the time of their birth and the father was neither a US citizen nor a legitimate permanent resident. (ii) When the mother was legally but temporarily in the US on a student, work or tourist visa and the father was neither a US citizen or a legitimate permanent resident. 

Eligibility for US citizenship under the new order:

- Children born prior to the order’s executive date will retain their US citizenship, the order does not apply retroactively.

- At least one parent of the child born is a US citizen or a legitimate permanent resident.

- Children will be granted citizenship at birth if the parents are green card holders or lawful permanent residents.

In addition, Trump signed an order extending TikTok’s operations for 75 days, during which he intends to reach a resolution that safeguards national security. The short video streaming platform was disabled on January 18 but restored its services after Trump revealed his plans to extend this deadline.

Another important order signed by Trump is initiating the process of withdrawing the US from the WHO (World Health Organisation), marking the second time in less than five years that the country has shown interest in exiting a global organisation.