With Donald Trump pushing with all his might to end birthright citizenship, questions have naturally arisen about the citizenship status of his own children since four of his five children were born to immigrant mothers.
Netizens have continuously drawn attention to this as going by what the president has proposed, it would seem that Trump’s children should also lose their American citizenship. However, there are certain details about Trump’s proposed rules which show that his children will actually be safe even if the birthright citizenship ends in the US.
For starters, despite having immigrant mothers, all of Trump’s children have an American father, which solidifies their status as American citizens. However, it should be noted here that Trump’s first and third wife, Ivana and Melania, were not American citizens when they gave birth to Trump’s children, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Barron Trump.
Despite not being an American citizen when she gave birth to Trump’s children, Ivana Trump had a strong legal foothold to obtain permanent residency in America. Similarly, Melania Trump also had a green card that she had obtained majorly by herself. Therefore, though their legal status as immigrants during giving birth to Trump’s children remain complicated, that is most likely not to hamper the children’s current citizenship status.
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It is important to note here that Trump’s 2025 executive order calls for ending birthright citizenship in cases
1. when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth
or
2. when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth
as reported by Snopes.
Ivana and Melania are respectively Czechoslovakian and Slovenian respectively, and as mentioned previously, their immigration status during the time of their children’s birth can be scrutinized and found faults with but ultimately it will be Trump’s American citizenship status that would seal the fates of their children. Since Trump has always been an American citizen, the ending of birthright citizenship would therefore not affect his sons and daughters.
