Aziz Huq on the Flawed Legal Logic Behind Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Proposal
Trump’s birthright citizenship proposal, explained by a law professor
President Donald Trump’s proposal to end birthright citizenship — a policy that guarantees that any child born on US soil has guaranteed American citizenship regardless of the status of their parents — would deny citizenship to children born to undocumented migrants. The move has a political and a legal logic; the first is familiar and pernicious, the second novel and flawed.
The political logic is simple: Announce something beyond the constitutional and political pale. Wait for liberals, including scholars like me, to complain. Then pivot back to the conservative base by blaming the left for its obstructionism. This lather-rinse-and-repeat cycle is especially useful at moments when there is other bad news to obfuscate.
Given that logic, the best approach might be to ignore Trump’s trial balloon (so stop reading!). Yet such proposals — think of the travel ban — have had a nasty habit of bearing fruit under the Trump administration. If such a policy were to go through, it would upend countless families and disrupt many lives. Hence, let’s consider the proposed legal logic.
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