The American institution of birthright citizenship, which stems from English law and was codified in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, generally grants automatic citizenship to those born on U.S. soil. But in one of the first acts of his second term, President Donald Trump tried to end birthright citizenship for children undocumented immigrants and temporary workers—only to have his executive order blocked by the courts.
Penn University Professor Emeritus Rogers Smith has said presidents cannot alter American citizenship rules by methods like Trump’s executive order, which is currently under U.S. Supreme Court review. While acknowledging that courts could revisit how the policy applies to children of undocumented families, Smith contends the legal debate misses a broader point: the essential role inclusive immigration policies have played in shaping the United States.
About our guest:
Rogers M. Smith is the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania and was previously the Alfred Cowles Professor of Government at Yale University. He is the author or co-author nine books, including “Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History,” which was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was President of the American Political Science Association in 2018-2019. He earned his bachelor’s in political science from Michigan State University and his master’s and Ph.D. in government from Harvard.