Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Government

Reader 1

Michael Fortner

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Abstract

For more than a century, the prevailing interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause has held that children born on United States soil are citizens at birth regardless of their parents’ nationality or immigration status. Through Executive Order 14160, President Donald Trump sought to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born after February 19, 2025, to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors. This thesis argues that the order challenges the longstanding constitutional understanding of birthright citizenship as part of a broader anti-immigrant political agenda. Although the policy change applies prospectively to a specific class of people, the rhetoric and reasoning behind it extend far beyond those directly targeted.

By asserting that the children of undocumented immigrants are ineligible for birthright citizenship, the order calls into question the belonging of descendants of immigrants more broadly. This is especially concerning for Latinos, who make up the largest share of the immigrant population and the nation’s largest ethnic minority group. Research shows that narratives that cast immigrants and ethnic minorities as perpetual foreigners against a racialized idea of White Americanness can weaken Latinos’ sense of belonging while also motivating increased civic and political participation. Regardless of how the Supreme Court rules in Trump v. Barbara (2026), the debate over citizenship demonstrates that Latinos’ standing within the political community has been threatened.

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This thesis is restricted to the Claremont Colleges current faculty, students, and staff.

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