The debate over birthright citizenship is back on. Well, sort of.
After the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for the children of temporary visitors and illegal aliens in Trump v. Barbara, the President signed two new orders that attempt to advance his immigration agenda while within the contours of the Court’s ruling. While both orders are legally tighter and better reasoned than the order invalidated in Barbara, one of them stands on significantly stronger legal ground than the other.
The first order, “Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” gives Trump’s original order a one-word update after Barbara: “Continuing.” Nonetheless, the legal theory has not changed as much as one word. Similar to the administration’s first attempt, the most consequential provisions are unlikely to survive legal scrutiny. The provisions that survive restate exceptions the Court already recognizes.
