Brad Jones, a professor of political science at the University of California Davis, told Newsweek. Birthright citizenship has been interpreted, repeatedly, as an integral part of the 14th Amendment. Trump isn't the first to weaponize birthright citizenship but he has been the most successful at bringing this issue to a boil.

Trump’s order targeting the Constitution’s 14th Amendment was hit with several legal challenges by Democratic attorneys general and was blocked by a federal judge Thursday afternoon. However, the Birthright Citizenship Act, introduced by House Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX), seeks to make the president’s order permanent.