A Trump official said:
“The federal government will not recognize automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States.”
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, guarantees birthright citizenship.
Trump’s order seeks to reinterpret this Amendment, which grants citizenship to all individuals born on U.S. soil. Legal experts argue this action is unconstitutional and will likely face immediate legal challenges.
It remains unclear whether the order applies retroactively to children already born to undocumented migrants or only to those born after its implementation.
The irony of this decision is striking. The United States was founded and built by a mix of undocumented migrants, forced migrants, and enslaved people.
European occupation of what is now the United States began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
By the 17th and 18th centuries, waves of settlers from England, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and other nations colonised the land – none of them ‘documented’ in the modern sense.
The displacement of Indigenous peoples during this time involved violent conquest, forced removal, cultural suppression, and the introduction of devastating diseases.
Many historians and Indigenous leaders describe this displacement and genocide as foundational to the country’s formation.
The concept of “illegal immigration” did not exist then.
However, the forcible displacement of Indigenous peoples and the imposition of foreign systems of governance raise significant moral and ethical questions about the legitimacy of European claims to the land.
Additionally, between the 17th and 19th centuries, millions of Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade.
Enslaved individuals, denied freedom and subjected to brutal exploitation, played a critical role in building the United States’ economy, particularly in agriculture and infrastructure. Their unpaid labour laid much of the nation’s early wealth.
Today, it is undeniable that a significant portion of the U.S. population are the children – i.e. descendants – of both ‘undocumented’ and enslaved migrants.
Many African Americans trace their ancestry to enslaved people brought to America during the transatlantic slave trade.
President Trump’s promise to ‘Make America Great Again’ stands in stark contrast to the historical reality that the nation was built on the labour and sacrifices of marginalised and often undocumented groups.
Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, and exploited migrants played foundational roles in shaping the country while being denied recognition, rights, and freedom.
In the end, it was ‘illegal migrants’ who made America ‘great’ in the first place.
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