Trump Says Birthright Citizenship Was Meant for Freed Slaves’ Children, Not Foreign Visitors
President says 14th Amendment meant only for freed slaves’ children.
President Donald Trump has doubled down on his historic move to end birthright citizenship, insisting in a fiery Politico interview that the 14th Amendment was drafted solely to protect the children of formerly enslaved Africans after the Civil War and was never intended to grant instant citizenship to babies born to wealthy foreigners or illegal entrants who “put one foot on American soil.
Signed on his very first day back in office, January 20, 2025, Executive Order 14160 mandates that children born in the United States after February 19, 2025, will no longer automatically become citizens unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, directly challenging 157 years of unbroken legal precedent.
Trump argued the original 1868 amendment emerged from the ashes of slavery and its timing proves its narrow purpose, warning that a Supreme Court defeat would be “devastating” because, in his words, “some rich person from another country” should not be allowed to “drop in, have a baby, and suddenly the entire family chain-migrates and lives off American taxpayers forever.”
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The order immediately triggered nationwide injunctions from federal judges, but in a landmark June 2025 ruling the Supreme Court sharply curtailed lower courts’ power to issue universal blocks, seized the case for itself, and is now preparing for oral arguments that could permanently reshape the meaning of American citizenship.
With the nation’s highest court poised to decide whether the constitutional phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes children of non-citizens, Trump’s aggressive reinterpretation has ignited one of the most consequential legal and political battles of his second term, pitting immigration hardliners against civil-rights advocates in a showdown that could affect millions.
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