The proposed move to revoke birthright citizenship in the U.S. is viewed as a dangerous regression that harks back to pre-Civil War ideologies. Birthright citizenship, defined in the Fourteenth Amendment, serves as a fundamental principle of American identity and legal structure. The article criticizes the Trump administration's efforts to undermine this guarantee through executive orders, arguing that they misinterpret the intentions of the amendment's authors who included immigrants and their descendants in the definition of citizenship. Overall, this move is seen as a serious violation of constitutional values and a threat to America's pluralistic democracy.
"The attempt to end birthright citizenship in the United States is an attempt to reverse history, to push our nation back... before the Dred Scott decision of 1857."
"Birthright citizenship is a shield of protection to anyone born in this country, as close to a national self-definition as we have; it is our legal DNA."
"That language is as fundamental to the Constitution as any other provision... perhaps even more important... than the First Amendment."
"The Trump administration now scoffs at this history, purporting to end this guarantee with an executive order... titled, in a fantastic act of Orwellian doublespeak..."
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