President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” marks a significant shift in the interpretation of birthright citizenship in the United States. Signed on January 20, 2025, this order specifically targets children born to mothers without legal status or on temporary visas when the father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. Will there be a future Democratic president who challenges Trump’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment?
The Executive Order’s Key Provisions
President Trump’s Executive Order 14160 directly challenges the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment that automatically grants citizenship to virtually all persons born on U.S. soil. The order specifically denies citizenship to children born in the United States if their mother was unlawfully present or only temporarily legally present, and if their father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of birth.
The order explicitly defines temporary lawful presence to include individuals in the U.S. under programs such as the Visa Waiver Program or those holding student, work, or tourist visas. This directive was published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2025, and will apply to individuals born in the United States 30 days after the date of the order.
President Trump: "Birthright citizenship was meant for the babies of slaves. It wasn't meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation."🔥 pic.twitter.com/Tv7cdugM1D
— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) June 27, 2025
Supreme Court Intervention and Legal Challenges
In a significant development, the Supreme Court has partially lifted injunctions against President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. The Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the order itself but determined that federal judges exceeded their authority by issuing nationwide injunctions against it.
The order interprets the Fourteenth Amendment’s text – “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States” – as not applying universally to everyone born on American soil. This interpretation represents a major departure from how the amendment has been understood and applied for over 150 years.
The President is of course correct. Birthright citizenship was introduced into American society to help right the wrongs of slavery, NOT promote mass migration by millions of illegal aliens.
Glad the Supreme Court embraced originalism and delivered a HUGE win 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/SfDh0Lc9El
— Javon A. Price 🇺🇸 (@JavonAPrice) June 27, 2025
Implementation and Practical Effects
The order directs several high-ranking officials, including the Secretary of State, Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Commissioner of Social Security, to ensure compliance with its provisions. These departments and agencies are required to issue public guidance on implementation within 30 days of the order.
The practical effect of the order will be to prohibit U.S. government departments and agencies from issuing or accepting documents recognizing U.S. citizenship for individuals in the specified categories. Children of lawful permanent residents will not be affected by the order, which provides definitions for “mother” and “father” as immediate biological progenitors.
The order specifies that it does not create enforceable rights or benefits and must be implemented consistently with applicable law. Government agencies will need to develop new procedures for determining citizenship eligibility and may face significant administrative challenges in implementing this dramatic policy shift.