Ending Birthright Citizenship
January 20, 2025
Executive order directing agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the US whose parents are not citizens or lawful permanent residents. Courts immediately blocked it as violating the Fourteenth Amendment. The order attempted to override 150 years of settled interpretation since United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898).
CFI Score
9Severe Tension
Constitutional Floor
Violation3+ lenses found severe tension
Lens Agreement
Broad ConsensusLenses largely agree
Steelman Defense
+26.8Stronger defense than consensus
Key Constitutional Issues
Floor Violations
Rights
5 of 5 lenses scored −2 (strong tension)
Equal
5 of 5 lenses scored −2 (strong tension)
Separation
5 of 5 lenses scored −2 (strong tension)
Due Process
5 of 5 lenses scored −2 (strong tension)
Caution Areas
Democratic
3 of 5 lenses found moderate tension
Welfare
5 of 5 lenses found moderate tension
Dimensional Extremes
Strongest: Sovereignty
Mean score -0.2 — 0 of 5 lenses scored positively
Weakest: Rights
Mean score -2.0 — 5 lenses found strong tension
Dimensional Profile
Dimension Scores by Lens
Scoring Matrix
| Dimension | Textualist | Originalist | Doctrinalist | Living | Pragmatist | Steelman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rights | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 |
| Equal | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 |
| Democratic | -1 | -1 | -1 | -2 | -2 | 0 |
| Separation | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 |
| Due Process | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -1 |
| Welfare | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 |
| Sovereignty | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1 | 0 | +1 |
Lens Narratives
Click to expand each constitutional lens's reasoning.
Steelman Analysis
The subject to jurisdiction clause has narrow readings available for diplomats and combatants. But this contradicts 150 years of precedent. Congress, not the executive, should clarify the clause.