Trump requests the Supreme Court to eliminate birthright citizenship in the U.S.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, insists on his goal of eliminating U.S. citizenship by birth for children of undocumented immigrants and in other cases, and he has now requested this from the Supreme Court.

This Thursday, in an emergency request, the Trump administration asked judges to limit the impact of decisions made by lower courts that had previously rejected an executive order that denied birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.

This refers to the court orders issued by federal district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington, which blocked a order signed by Trump on January 20, just hours after he began his current term.

In its emergency appeals, the Department of Justice argues that individual judges do not have the authority to enforce their rulings on a national level.

"Universal judicial orders have reached epidemic proportions since the beginning of the current administration," questions the appeal submitted to the Supreme Court.

"These universal court orders prohibit a decree from being enforced anywhere in the country, concerning 'hundreds of thousands' of unspecified individuals who 'are neither before the court nor identified by the court,'" it adds.

Trump's order seeks to reinterpret the 14th Amendment of the 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."

If the president's policy is implemented, the State Department will be unable to issue passports to children born after February 19 to undocumented parents, and their recognition as citizens by the Social Security Administration would be restricted, making it difficult for them to access basic rights and to work legally in the country.

U.S. agencies would also be prohibited from issuing any certification or accepting any state document that recognizes citizenship for those children.

The administration has requested "at a minimum" to be authorized to make public announcements about how it plans to implement the policy if it were to come into effect.

Trump asserts that birthright citizenship was not conceived "for everyone to come and crowd into the United States," and he describes it as "ridiculous" for anyone born in the territory to be granted automatic citizenship.

For over 150 years, U.S. jurisprudence has recognized the principle of ius soli (right of the soil), interpreting the text of the 14th Amendment as the legitimate means of guaranteeing citizenship to all born in the country, regardless of their parents' immigration status.

Some conservatives criticize this stance and remind that the aforementioned Amendment states two requirements to access the benefit: being born in the country and being "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States. According to this theory, undocumented individuals are subject to the jurisdiction of their countries of origin.

So far, more than 20 states, along with individuals and groups, have challenged Trump's executive order, claiming it violates the 14th Amendment.

In its appeal, the government requests that the president's plan take effect for everyone except for those individuals and groups that filed the lawsuit, as the administration argues that states lack the legal right or standing to challenge the executive order.

Frequently Asked Questions about Birthright Citizenship in the U.S. and Donald Trump's Proposals