Imagine traveling across borders, oceans, and plains to get to America, the land of the free. You fight endlessly to give your unborn child a better life, only for them to become stateless the moment they are born in the country you tried so hard to get to. 

President Donald Trump tried to abolish the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” This Amendment protects our rights as citizens in America, abolishing this would be unconstitutional and threaten our freedom. 

Around 3.65 million babies all over the United States are being born every year, with 250,000 of them born to undocumented immigrants according to Syracuse University. If Trump abolishes the 14th amendment, all these babies will begin a stateless class, not recognized as citizens of any country: no social security, no rights, and no home according to Lauren Lee from CNN.

The question is, where would they go? These children will have no rights or privileges as U.S. citizens. Babies are automatically born in a stateless class unclaimed by any country due to their parents not being documented. There are already 11 million undocumented immigrants in America, and if the amendment gets abolished, the number will practically double in size, according to the American Immigration Council.

There are so many undocumented immigrants because getting legal papers is a lengthy process that can take years. Most people don’t have years to waste and need an immediate escape from their home country. Yet, because of this process people enter America illegally.

Some might argue that though most of these undocumented immigrants are not bad people and follow the law as American citizens, they still came into this country illegally, and they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. However, their children don’t deserve to be seen as criminals because of their parent’s choice.

These children have to face leaving the country they’ve only known to a foreign place called “home” People who have been brought here as babies also face leaving their home since they were raised here. Though they weren’t born here they still have an attachment to where they were raised. They are only used to this area and it isn’t fair for them to just be sent away for being harmless. 

Abolishing this amendment is obscene and cruel and against the constitution that has been the backbone of this country since 1787. These children are American citizens born on American soil and have rights the government installed to protect. Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Trump’s order to abolish the amendment and stated that this is blatantly unconstitutional.