trump Management Escalates Efforts to Revoke Citizenship

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! democracynow.org,The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

The Trump administration is ramping up efforts to strip more naturalized immigrants of their U.S. citizenship. That’s according to a report in The New York Times which found internal guidance issued this week to U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services field offices asked that they supply Office of Immigration litigation with 100 to 200 denaturalization cases per month in the next fiscal year. The Times reports it would represent a “massive escalation of denaturalization in the modern era.”

The news comes less than two weeks after the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case to decide the constitutionality of President Trump’s executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship.

To talk about all of this, as well as the latest threat by the Trump administration, that was issued last night, to end the visa diversity program, which leads to a green card for so many, we’re joined now by Mae Ngai, professor of Asian American studies and history at Columbia University. Much of her work focuses on immigration, citizenship and nationalism.

Welcome back to Democracy Now! Professor Ngai. It’s great to have you with us. Let’s start off –

MAE NU: Thanks for having me, Amy. Great to be here.

AMY GOODMAN: Explain for people who don’t quite understand: What is it to be a naturalized citizen? And then, what does it mean that the Trump administration wants to revoke that citizenship from 100 to 200 people a month?

MAE NU: The United States has two kinds of citizens: those who are born in this contry, who are automatically citizens by birth – that’s what we call birthright citizenship – and naturalized citizens, those people who are immigrants who can apply to become a citizen after they’ve been here for five years, take a test on civics, have no criminal record, etc.

The Constitution treats both kinds of citizens equally.Birthright citizens and naturalized citizens are treated the same under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. And we have naturalized close to 10 million people in the last 10 years, so there’s a large number of foreign-born Americans who are citizens of this country. Now, to give you some context –

AMY GOODMAN: The mayor-elect –

MAE NU: – on what does it mean to – yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: The mayor-elect of New York – right? – zohran Mamdani, is a naturalized citizen.He was born in uganda.

MAE NU: That’s right,and Trump has explicitly threatened to strip Mamdani of his citizenship.

AMY GOODMAN: So, keep going with your explanation now.

MAE NU: OK. So, to give you some context, what does it mean to say they want 100 to 200 cases per month? During the first Trump administration, they

The History of Birthright Citizenship in the U.S.

The debate surrounding birthright citizenship in the United States has been reignited in recent years, notably following statements made by former President donald trump. This concept, enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the United States, with a few limited exceptions. Though, its origins and interpretation have been subject to ongoing discussion.

Approximately 300,000 babies are born each year in the U.S. to parents who are undocumented or temporary immigrants,and are automatically granted citizenship by virtue of their birth location.

Former President Trump has argued that birthright citizenship was originally intended only for the children of slaves, stating, “It was meant for the babies of slaves.It wasn’t meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation.” He further claimed the provision originated on the same date as the end of the Civil War.

However, legal scholar Mae Ngai clarifies that while the 14th Amendment was initially aimed at protecting the rights of newly freed slaves, its scope was later broadened by the Supreme Court.In 1898, the case of wong Kim Ark established that birthright citizenship extends to the children of immigrants, including those from China.

The Court reasoned that eliminating birthright citizenship for Chinese immigrants would jeopardize the citizenship of children born to European immigrants as well. Ngai emphasizes that the Court recognized the far-reaching implications of this constitutional provision and upheld its application to all individuals born within U.S. territory. The ruling has remained in effect ever since.