On day one of his second presidency,
Donald Trump wasted no time using his executive power to trample on so much of what makes the United States great.He withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty to combat climate change, signalling his continued
loyalty to the fossil fuel industry and their poisoning of our planet.He also withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization,
putting the country's citizens at far higher risk of disease outbreaks that are impossibly hard to fight alone.
He
pardoned roughly 1,500 people for their participation in the violent attacks on the nation's Capitol on January 6th, signaling to dangerous political extremists that assaults of this nature will be tolerated.
But one of the most devastating executive orders that Trump issued, on a very personal and human level, was
his attempt to end birthright citizenship -- a Constitutional Amendment that guarantees citizenship to all children born in the United States.Sign this petition and join us in demanding that the United States Congress abide by the Constitution, not Trump's un-American whims.Birthright citizenship has been around for over 150 years, ushering in generations of children, giving them a chance to live life as an United States citizen.
Birthright citizenship means children born here have all the same rights as their peers -- the right to an education, the right to healthcare, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Stripping birthright citizenship from any child that is born in the United States is not only encouraging further division in our country, but it is a cruel refusal to care for every child equally.
Donald Trump should be ashamed. Ending birthright citizenship now would be targeting already
vulnerable communities that are terrified of what Trump will do in the coming months. During his first administration, Trump attempted to end Daca (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), a program that helps undocumented immigrants, and there are of course fears that he will try again. Trump has also ended the federal policy that would protect
schools, churches, and hospitals from immigration raids, striking fear in families that they could be separated in places they once thought were safe.
Luckily, ending birthright citizenship will not be as easy as Trump would like. The executive order has already been blocked by a federal judge as unconstitutional, and the legal battle will likely be long and arduous for Trump. Congress does have the power to pass a law or a new Constitutional Amendment upholding Trump's desired change, which is why we must implore them to stand strong.
The job of Congress is to serve as its own branch of government, upholding the Constitution and checking executive power when it goes too far -- and that's what Congress must do now.We demand that Congress protects the children and families that call this country home. Sign the petition demanding Congress do everything in its power to keep birthright citizenship intact!