U.S. President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One to depart for New Jersey, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., March 21, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard
President Donald Trump cited the ghosts of the Founding Fathers as he once again attacked birthright citizenship Friday afternoon.
The president took to his Truth Social platform to rage that the "14th Amendment Right of American Citizenship never had anything to do with modern day 'gate crashers,' illegal immigrants who break the Law by being in our Country, it had everything to do with giving Citizenship to former slaves."
He railed that the "Founding Fathers are 'spinning in their graves' at the idea that our Country can be taken away from us. No Nation in the World has anything like this. Our lawyers and Judges have to be tough, and protect America!"
ALSO READ:'Not much I can do': GOP senator gives up fight against Trump's tariffs
Trump has made ending birthright citizenship a priority for his first 100 days in his second term. On Jan. 20, hours after taking office a second time, Trump signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship. The order, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," aimed to deny citizenship to children born in the country after Feb. 19 if their parents lived in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas.
The order directly challenged the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which has long been interpreted to grant citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. Trump's order has been based on a controversial interpretation of the amendment, arguing that it "has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States."
The order also faces a murky future in the courts, with multiple federal judges already blocking its implementation. Additionally, more than 20 states have sued to halt the order.