America—the land of the free and the soil of opportunity—the melting pot that blends together various cultures and lifestyles—-or at least that’s what it prides itself to be. America has always promoted the values and principles of liberty, justice, and inclusion—but the country hasn’t always been consistent in practicing what it preaches.
America’s reputation in regards to diversity has always been very sketchy, and with current president Donald Trump in office, it seems like the country is actually straying further away from the principles that the Constitution looks to cement. Trump has been on a mission to alienate and isolate certain demographics in an attempt to strip diversity from American society and limit the cultural impact that the country pushes to embrace.
And while we thought that being born in the United States was enough to deem an individual as a U.S. citizen and protect their natural-born rights, Trump is looking to delegitimize people’s citizenship if they are birthed from parents who are not legal citizens—even if they are born in the U.S. This attempt to alienate individuals and place harsher restrictions on gaining citizenship contradicts what the U.S. Constitution stands for, and it displays the president’s great efforts to limit inclusivity and diversity in a land that prides itself on freedom, justice, and good virtue.
And the Supreme Court, while generally backing the president, seemed quite apprehensive about Trump’s potential plan—and after a major recent update, the Supreme Court is almost confident that Trump’s proposal on limiting birthright citizenship will be rejected.
Several other courts have also thrown out Trump’s attempts at placing greater restrictions on citizenship. The president claimed that America is “the only country in the world stupid enough to allow birthright citizenship” according to the Associated Press. Despite the president’s heated remarks, there are several countries that grant citizenship through birth on the country’s soil.
The fiery debate demonstrates another example of Donald Trump striving to go against the Constitution in order to get what he wants. It is clear that the president only deems certain demographics worthy of fitting the American mold rather than appreciating the cultural heterogeneity and variation that society is pushing for. Birth on U.S. grounds has always been one of the most common ways of determining American citizenship, and despite Trump’s unmitigated efforts to strip the essence that cultural diversity brings to the country, the Supreme Court had the final say and protected one of the most important rights of the American Constitution.
