President Donald Trump issued a slew of executive orders on his first day in office, including a long-promised attempt to end birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that anyone born in the United States is automatically an American citizen, regardless of their parents’ legal status. An order issued by Trump aims to end that practice.
The order is currently on hold after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order three days after it was signed.
Some people online claimed that if the order takes effect, it would affect members of the president’s own inner circle.
“[Vice President] JD Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, will have her citizenship revoked [because] her parents were not US citizens at the time of her birth,” claimed one post on X with more than 3 million views.
Other posts pointed out Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also born in the U.S. to two parents who were not citizens at the time.
VERIFY readers wanted to know if the order could revoke citizenship retroactively.
THE QUESTION
Could Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order retroactively revoke citizenship?
THE SOURCES
- Executive order, “Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship”
- 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
THE ANSWER
No, Trump’s executive order would not retroactively revoke citizenship.
WHAT WE FOUND
If instated, Trump’s executive order would only apply to babies born in late February or later, not people previously born to non-citizen parents in the U.S. like Usha Vance or Marco Rubio.
On Jan. 20, his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order titled “Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship.”
The order says “no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship” to people born in the U.S. if neither parent is a lawful permanent resident.
But the order also says that the rule “shall apply only to persons who are born within the United States after 30 days from the date of this order.”
Given the order was signed Jan. 20, 2025 that means it would only apply to children born after Feb. 19, 2025.
Within days of the order’s signing, 22 state attorneys general sued to block the order, saying it violates the Constitution.
The 14th Amendment says “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
A federal judge quickly granted the request for a temporary restraining order, placing the executive order on a 14-day hold while it gets debated in court.
The judge, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, said during the hearings that Trump’s order was “blatantly unconstitutional,” adding “I’ve been on the bench for over four decades. I can’t remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is.”