NPG Issues Statement on Presidential Executive Order Regarding Birthright Citizenship Eligibility
- NPG
- January 22, 2025
- Press Releases
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Birthright Citizenship Eligibility Must Be Clarified
Alexandria, VA, (January 22, 2025): Within hours of being sworn into office, President Trump issued a flurry of Executive Orders. Of particular interest to Negative Population Growth, Inc. is his Executive Order outlawing birthright citizenship.
For more than a decade, NPG has petitioned Congress to clarify who should be protected by birthright citizenship. NPG firmly believes that at least one parent must be a U.S. citizen for a child to become a citizen at birth. Several pieces of legislation have attempted to establish firm guidelines on this matter. Unfortunately, all have failed to progress through the legislative process, leaving our nation very much in gray territory on this incredibly important topic.
NPG believes that illegal immigration can and must be stopped. This executive order, which seeks to eliminate birthright citizenship for the child/children of illegal immigrants, is in alignment with our mission. With the support of our members, NPG has remained consistent in our activism to raise awareness on this very nuanced segment of immigration law.
Established within the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, birthright citizenship was first enacted in 1868 to guarantee legal protection and citizenship to recently freed slaves and their children. At that time, immigration into the U.S. was a fraction of what it is today, and the concept of illegal immigration was of minor importance simply because the numbers were so low. Today, with an illegal immigrant population estimated to be more than 16 million people, the legal status of children born to illegal immigrants is vastly more significant.
Legal battles against President Trump’s action on birthright citizenship are quickly surfacing. Legal scholars are already pointing to the fact that a sitting president simply does not have the authority to alter or nullify a Constitutional Amendment. In fact, changing a Constitutional Amendment is quite difficult from a legal perspective – it would require yet another Amendment to nullify or change it. Passing a new Amendment is particularly challenging as it requires both chambers of Congress to pass it by a two-thirds majority and it must then receive approval from three-fourths of the states. In the history of our nation, this has only happened one time: the 18th Amendment established prohibition in 1919 and the 21st Amendment reversed the ban in 1933. In today’s incredibly divisive political environment, it seems very unlikely that any proposed Constitutional Amendment would receive overwhelming support from the various parties involved.
The legality of President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship will certainly not be decided quickly. The matter may very well make its way to the Supreme Court before it is finally settled. NPG will continue to advocate for reform of our nation’s birthright citizenship policies by supporting legislation that clarifies who is eligible for citizenship status as outlined in the 14th Amendment.
Since 1972, NPG has worked to educate both the public and policy leaders about the impacts of overpopulation. With a steadfast commitment to reducing population growth to achieve a sustainable balance with our environmental resources, NPG continues to be a leading voice of reason in a world often driven by the pursuit of perpetual growth. We do not simply identify the problems – we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on X @npg_org.
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