Millions of people, including my 9-year-old self, remember watching the news in horror on November 8th, 2016, as a man who built his campaign on the hate of an ethnic group will now hold office in the most powerful position in the world. This marked a very dark turn in the world as we witnessed the fall of the democratic majority that had been in place under the Obama administration. Even though I was just 9 years old, I knew from what I saw and heard on TV that the next 4 years were not going to be kind to me and my migrant family.
Eight years later on his first day in the Oval Office, again. Donald Trump signed an executive order entitled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”. Its main goal, and what Trump boasted about, was to end birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship, to those who don’t know, is another name for the 14th Amendment that says any person born within the United States is guaranteed citizenship to the United States.
The 14th Amendment was introduced to guarantee citizenship to enslaved people who were liberated, and their children from thereafter. It’s the reason people like myself, who have a mother who immigrated from Central America, have citizenship, and it’s been this way for 157 years.
The purpose of this Executive Order is not to actually have any effects on citizenship status but to scare people. My plea to you is to not fall for this tactic. Donald Trump has no way to actually get rid of birthright citizenship. It is baked in the constitution which makes it nearly impossible to get rid of. You would need 2/3rds of Congress, along with it being ratified by 3/4ths of every single state, an almost unanimous decision that Trump does not have the numbers for.
A very common sentiment I hear is that Trump doesn’t stand for laws or have any integrity. While this might be true of him as a person, it cannot withstand the will of the people. Already, we’ve seen huge civil rights unions like the ACLU, sue the Trump administration because it is a violation of civil rights. Even if people abide by it, they would themselves be sued or potentially incarcerated.
The best thing to do in moments like these is to show that this scare tactic doesn’t work and that we will stand strong. Protest, write to your senators or representatives, show that you won’t stand for this is all. You need to help not only yourself but others.
