In a country where birthright citizenship regardless of lineage is a deeply held value, the president’s attempt to cut off that right for future generations could create a permanent underclass, through policy change that would specifically target communities of color. His executive order faces court challenges from civil rights organizations, which have favorable constitutional language and over a century of legal precedent on their side. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) late on Monday led a group of organizations in filing a lawsuit challenging Trump’s order.

President Donald Trump imposed an executive order outlawing birthright citizenship—in which anyone born in the U.S. automatically becomes a citizen—on the first day of his second term Monday, a move that’s already been met with multiple legal challenges, as experts widely believe he does not have the power to change the policy on his own.

The citizenship order will face years of legal fights before it is reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The rule would not apply to children born before the rule is confirmed. If upheld, the change would sharply reduce the government-created incentives for migrants to sneak into Americans’ society and it would help Americans build their own families. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that in 2024 migrants gave birth to almost 400,000 “anchor babies” — the term used to describe the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens and other foreign nationals. The decision to birth a child in the United States is rational for foreigners and their children — and is good for progressives’ goal of imposed diversity. But the process drains the value of citizenship held by Americans.