President Donald Trump signed an executive order to redefine birthright citizenship to exclude the children of undocumented immigrants.
“It’s a good one. Birthright, that’s a big one,” Trump said from the Oval Office as he signed a slate of orders related to immigration. “It’s ridiculous, we’re the only country in the world that does this with birthright, as you know, and it’s just absolutely ridiculous. We think we have really good grounds. People have wanted to do this for decades.”
In fact, dozens of countries have birthright citizenship protections.
The order is guaranteed to face a fierce and immediate challenge in court. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution specifically grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, and has done as much for more than 150 years.
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Trump signed dozens of executive actions on Monday, just hours after his inauguration. The slate of orders will quickly transform the federal government in his image and impact many aspects of society.
His decisions will include an overhaul of how immigration is enforced, and Trump will direct the U.S. military to take a larger role enforcing border security. The orders will also suspend asylum and reinstate his controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy.