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FILE – Migrants walk along the Huixtla highway in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, Oct. 22, 2024, hoping to reach the country’s northern border and ultimately the United States. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente, File) By Anna Ortega January 28, 2025 – 06:00 In the week since Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on January 20, he’s made sweeping policy changes regarding immigration including birthright citizenship . Hours after Trump was inaugurated, he filed an executive order aiming to terminate birthright citizenship and end the automatic granting of citizenship to children born in the United States to immigrant parents. Additionally, the Trump administration shut down the CBP One App , an online platform used by those hoping to begin the legal process of immigration to reserve appointments. Only a day later, the Trump administration rescinded a long-standing policy preventing ICE from arresting undocumented people in “sensitive” areas like schools, hospitals, and churches. With this, many are calling his tactics morally and ethically deprived as families debate whether its safe to send their children to school, seek medical help, or even practice their faith. On the evening of January 20 after his inauguration, Trump signed an order that aims to deny birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who are “unlawfully present,” “not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident” or in the country under legal but temporary status. Additionally, it directs the Social Security Administration to no longer recognize the children as citizens and the State Department to stop issuing them passports. If approved, the order, which aims to target undocumented immigrants across the nation, would go into effect in 30 days but would not be retroactive. The move is likely to face significant legal challenges due to the 14th Amendment in the U.S. Constitution, which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Trump’s executive order claims that the 14th Amendment has “never been interpreted” to give universal citizenship to everyone born in the U.S. In order to amend the Constitution and pass the order, both chambers of Congress would have to pass the amendment with a two-thirds majority and at least three-quarters of the states would have to approve it. In response to the order, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit late on Monday evening that argues his interpretation of the law is unconstitutional and aims to block Trump from denying citizenship to those children. In a statement, ACLU executive director Anthony Romero blasted the order: Stay connected! Subscribe now and get the latest on culture, empowerment, and more. SIGN ME UP! This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and Google Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service . Thank You! You are already subscribed to our newsletter “Denying citizenship to U.S.-born children is not only unconstitutional − it’s also a reckless and ruthless repudiation of American values. This order seeks to repeat one of the gravest errors in American history, by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the U.S. who are denied full rights as Americans. We will not let this attack on newborns and future generations of Americans go unchallenged. The Trump administration’s overreach is so egregious that we are confident we will ultimately prevail,” Romero said. A day later on Tuesday, January 21, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it would roll back the policy restricting Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, and Customs and Border Protection from arresting undocumented people in sensitive locations like schools, churches, and hospitals and events like funerals, weddings, and more. First enacted in 2011, the policy was meant to allow undocumented people to operate freely in certain public areas to benefit them and the larger community. This move intends to boost ICE’s authority to arrest migrants across the country as part of Trump’s plan to carry out what he calls the “largest deportation operation in American history.” The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Jan. 21 that it would roll back the policy to “thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas” and trust law enforcement to use “common sense” in making arrests. Additionally, according to a memo obtained by ABC News, ICE will return to using dehumanizing terms like “illegal aliens” when referring to undocumented people after the term was changed to “noncitizen” in 2021 by the Biden Administration. As a result, many families are thinking twice about getting medical care, attending school, or even practicing their faith according to Olivia Golden , interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy. “This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities,” Golden said in a statement. “Should ICE presence near such locations become more common, the likelihood also increases that children could witness a parent’s detention, arrest, or other encounters with ICE agents. Such exposure can harm children’s mental and physical health and negatively impact their long-term development.” As of January 27, there have been massive ICE raids in major U.S. cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, and more. Since Trumps inauguration, ICE has arrested at least 2,681 people, and on Sunday, January 26, ICE arrested a total of 956 people the largest number of arrests on a single day by the Trump administration to date. In this Article Birthright citizenship Customs and Border Protection Department of Homeland Security Donald Trump ICE immigration Immigration and Customs Enforcement La Migra Latinx communities U.S. Politics undocumented immigrants More on this topic News and Entertainment Oaxacan Chef Thalía Barrios García Earns a Michelin Star January 27, 2025 – 12:01 News and Entertainment Latinx Talent Shines at 2025 Sundance Film Festival January 24, 2025 – 12:27 News and Entertainment 16 Movies Starring Latinx Talent Coming Out in 2025 January 23, 2025 – 06:00 News and Entertainment Ten-Year-Old Génesis Mei Ling Murdered in Mexico January 22, 2025 – 11:26
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