During Trump’s first term, one word characterized his immigration policies, and it wasn’t efficiency—it was cruelty. It was cruel to yank babies from their mothers’ arms and place children in cages. It was cruel to forbid a Muslim mother, married to a US citizen, from seeing her dying U.S. citizen son simply because she was Muslim. It was cruel to remove temporary protections for Haitians and send them back to a country that was—and still is—unlivable. But if you think Trump’s policies won’t affect you, think again. They’re going to be worse.
Let’s talk about birthright citizenship. And if you’re a proud naturalized citizen, don’t stop reading here. Swallow your pride and keep going—like the rest of us mere mortals. I’m here to tell you that the news isn’t good for you either.
The first time I mentioned to a friend that Trump wanted to abolish birthright citizenship, she said, “Oh, but that’s for newcomers.” Little did she know about constitutional law—or Stephen Miller’s plan, Trump’s future Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy. Yes, the 14th Amendment grants citizenship by birth. Adopted in 1868, it wasn’t until 1901 that, for the first time, citizenship was granted to a Chinese descendant, Wong Kim Ark. Why? Because the 14th Amendment was adopted to grant citizenship to African Americans who, before the Civil War, were not considered citizens. The 14th Amendment wasn’t initially designed to include everyone. Its interpretation can go two ways: to include everyone born in the U.S. or to exclude certain groups.
According to some, Wong Kim Ark’s case is a narrow precedent that allows citizenship only for those born to parents with legal residency in the U.S. Wong Kim Ark’s parents, after all, were legal residents.
And Trump doesn’t need a constitutional amendment to undermine birthright citizenship. No. He just needs one case to reach the Supreme Court. How would they get such a case? Simple: by stopping the issuance of Social Security cards and passports to children born to undocumented immigrants. This, according to The New York Times, is Stephen Miller’s proposal. Or, to paraphrase Trump’s Homeland Security nominee Thomas Homan, Trump doesn’t need to separate families anymore—he can simply deport U.S.-born citizens along with their parents. Of course, one of those families would sue, and our sacred Supreme Court, now dominated by five ultra-conservative justices, would decide. Chief Justice Roberts won’t have much sway, and the three liberal female justices—who couldn’t even save the right to abortion—can’t do much.
And you—staring at your screen like a mindless zombie, picking out Christmas outfits, sending little hearts to your grandmother—thinking this has nothing to do with you, saying, “This is for newcomers; I have my papers.” Let me tell you: you’re not safe. Once this constitutional principle is broken, the law could be applied retroactively. It could impact the past, present, and future. Once it’s broken, we won’t know which cases it applies to. So, you’d better start wondering if you were born when your parents had papers, or if you gave birth to your proud college-bound child when you had papers. You’ll need to ask a lawyer if this would apply to parents with asylum status, tourist visas, or student visas. Get ready—it’s going to be a complete shitshow.
But you might say, “I’m naturalized, so what?” Well, welcome to the land of the unwelcome. During his first term, Trump created the Denaturalization Unit. Before Trump, denaturalization was rare and used mostly against war criminals. From 1990 to 2017, the U.S. denaturalized 300 people. From 2018 to 2019, Trump denaturalized over 1,600. And it gets worse: in 2019, the Denaturalization Unit requested funding to denaturalize 700,000 people. Yes, you read that right: 700,000 people. So, why wasn’t this on the news? COVID happened, and the story got buried during the Biden administration.
Still think this only applies to criminals? You’ve paid your taxes all your life, and you think that only those with major offenses would be targeted? Think again. In 2019, law professor Amanda Frost warned that thousands of naturalized citizens were at risk of losing their citizenship over minor technicalities—like a mistake on their application. Even being an exemplary citizen might not protect you because, for Trumpism, none of that matters.
Still not convinced? Your life is so perfect that nothing, absolutely nothing, could go wrong. You speak flawless English, and you’re confident your application was error-free. You’re practically Melania Trump, a naturalized citizen. And, like Melania, you might have dual citizenship. I do too—I kept my Colombian citizenship, and she has hers from Slovenia. But remember this: dual citizenship isn’t protected under U.S. law. There’s no law or regulation guaranteeing it. On the contrary, the Oath of Allegiance, those little words you repeated during your naturalization ceremony, explicitly states: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”
Have you ever used your Colombian, Mexican, or Brazilian passport to enter those countries? Have you used it to avoid visa fees that U.S. citizens must pay to enter Chile, Argentina, or El Salvador? Each time you use that passport, you’re demonstrating loyalty to another nation. My fear is that Trump, or any future administration, could require individuals to renounce their other citizenships to retain U.S. citizenship, as has happened in recent years in other countries.
But I know that, like Melania, you might have the money to pay lawyers to renounce your foreign citizenship—or, in the worst-case scenario, you could renounce your U.S. citizenship altogether. You don’t need it, right? You just need work papers. But guess what? You won’t be able to vote. And that’s what they want: to silence your voice. One denaturalized citizen, one less vote, one less chance for dissent.
It’s time to demand that our legislators protect citizenship—by birth, by naturalization, and dual citizenship. We need to stand in solidarity with one another. We need to act.
Let me tell you: Get your head out of the clouds. You’re not Melania Trump. And if they’re going after birthright citizens, you can bet they’ll come for us, the naturalized citizens, too.
Still, a friend to whom I explained all of this said, “No matter what, I’d prefer to be deported if it means we don’t get into another foreign war.” That’s kind of them, people who believe in the so-called Trump peace, which isn’t peace at all. Trump created an enemy within our borders. Don’t you hear how he and his allies call us all “invaders”? Invaders. The war isn’t against China or Russia. No, the war is against you, against me, against people like you and me. Don’t be a fool.