A provision in the 14th Amendment that grants automatic citizenship to anybody born on U.S. soil, regardless of the parents’ citizenship status, is a relic from a distant time and warrants discussion.
President Trump is right to bring attention to the provision, but in typical Trump fashion he has done so in a clumsy fashion that feasts on this nation’s political divisions and demonstrates a lack of regard for the law. In the process, he has highlighted both his weaknesses and his strengths as president.
Trump this week said that he plans to issue an executive order overturning “birthright citizenship.” It is not a coincidence that this declaration was made one week before the midterm election, as Trump works to make immigration the preeminent issue while diverting attention from his party’s tax cuts for the wealthy and failure to effectively address health care. If you can’t defend your record, provide a distraction — and Trump is a master of the ploy.
The reason Trump’s claim is nothing more than a distraction is that the president does not have the power to overturn the U.S. Constitution through executive order. Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said, “As a conservative, I’m a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear.” The Supreme Court has agreed, affirming in an 1898 case that children born in the United States to Chinese immigrants are citizens.
While supporters regard Trump’s violation of political norms as a feature rather than a bug, there is no getting around the proper method for proposing and passing a constitutional amendment. Under Article V of the Constitution, amendments require approval by two-thirds of both the House and Senate and then passage by three-quarters of the states. The process is lengthy and laborious — a necessary safeguard against the whims of a would-be dictator. If the next president desired to overturn the Second Amendment with an executive order, we’d bet Trump’s supporters would take issue with the proposal.
We’re guessing the president understands this. We’re also guessing that he is merely trying to rally his base before the midterm election with what they consider an attractive idea — even if it is outlandishly absurd. The thought of amending the Constitution by executive fiat is as likely as getting Mexico to pay for a border wall — and enough people believed that lie to land Trump in the White House.
Ginning up support for ridiculous ideas represents his ability to connect with a significant segment of the population. It also represents the divisiveness of his management style, in this case increasing the toxicity that has infected debates regarding immigration.
Along the way, Trump detracts from — and instantly polarizes — an idea that should be discussed. Critics of U.S. immigration policy claim that “birth tourism” has foreigners and undocumented immigrants coming to this country solely to give birth to an American citizen. This must be part of a robust policy discussion, but that discussion must be cleansed of the xenophobia Trump so willingly promotes. It should be viewed from a perspective of upholding the laws that have made this nation a stable representative democracy.
If the United States has outgrown a portion of the 14th Amendment, then outdated provisions should be overturned. That requires a thoughtful process rather than the dictatorial knee-jerk reaction preferred by President Trump.
