Among the flotilla of executive orders Trump signed off on during his first day in office, the flagship legislation may have been his attempt to end birthright citizenship.

Titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” the order dictates that children born in the U.S. to parents who are not lawful permanent residents should not be recognized as U.S. citizens. This order is not only a drastic reversal of over 150 years of U.S. legal standards and case law, it also, according to most legal scholars, directly contravenes the U.S. Constitution.

The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified in 1868, is clear and succinct: “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 has long meant that anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen, regardless of whether their parents are undocumented, on a temporary visa, or awaiting approval.

Trump has based his order on assertions that immigrants on temporary visas or without lawful residence are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and as such the “privilege of United States citizenship” cannot be extended to them.

The U.S. is one of only 20 or so countries around the world with unconditional birthright citizenship. Simply speaking, there are two legal principles guiding citizenship rights globally: jus soli or “the right of soil”, and jus sanguinis or “the right of blood.”

The U.S., Mexico, and much of Latin America determine citizenship on the basis of jus soli, with some conditions and caveats depending on the state.

Countries that approach citizenship on the basis of jus sanguinis look to the nationality of one or both parents, or even the nationality of their ancestors. Greece, like most of Europe, is in this camp.

Persons born in Greece only acquire Greek citizenship at birth if at least one of their parents is a Greek national.

For those born to non-Greek parents, the process is slow and arduous. According to a 2015 law, children born in Greece to non-Greek parents have the right to apply for citizenship once they have successfully concluded at least six years of schooling or upon graduation from a Greek high school. If a child has a parent with a long-term residence permit (with certain restrictions in place as to which kind and how long they have had it), the child can apply for citizenship when they enroll in the 1st grade of elementary school.

But even if a child meets all the requirements and an application is submitted, it can take years before a decision is made. Advocacy and monitoring organization Generation 2.0 has stated that five years can elapse after an application is filed before it is examined. In their 2024 report, the group notes: “The slow processing of requests and the understaffing of services is a persistent issue for both citizenship services and applicants, as there are many pending cases due to serious delays.”

Generation 2.0 additionally points out a large gap in the current law when it comes to children with disabilities who may have attended a different school or followed a different curriculum.

This leaves many people who have always lived in Greece without full citizenship and the rights that this confers.

Famously, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the vaunted basketball star christened the “Greek Freak”, was not actually Greek on paper for most of his life. In fact, he remained stateless until he was picked up for the NBA draft, at which point a passport was hurriedly printed and stamped so he could be properly claimed in all his outstanding Greekness.

Giannis Antetokounmpo attends the naturalization ceremony of his mother, Veronica Antetokounmpo, and youngest brother, Alexandros Emeka Antetokounmpo. Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis is at second left.

Tens of thousands of children who were born in Greece and have lived here all their lives – be they from Nigeria or Albania, Pakistan or Syria, Georgia or wherever else – are stuck in a legal purgatory, unable to vote, to work certain jobs, and perhaps even to travel abroad.

On the other hand, people who have an ancestor who was a Greek citizen can apply for citizenship at any time, regardless of whether they were born in Greece or have lived here at all. All they have to do is provide documents that identify the ancestor in Greek municipal records and prove their relationship to that person.

This is a very specific, extremely narrow conception of what it means to be Greek, of what determines whether someone belongs in a place, of who gets access to full citizenship rights.

Greece does not seem to feel any need to change these standards. Despite all the chest-beating over the declining birthrate and “demographic problem”, there is little talk of easing the hurdles for young people who have lived here their whole lives to be recognized as part of the Greek demographic.

Still, some countries with a jus sanguinis system have moved towards a jus soli approach when confronted with millions of residents without citizenship. For example, Germany has granted birthright citizenship since 1999 to people whose parents meet certain residency conditions.

But as anti-immigration sentiment has risen worldwide and nations have moved towards a “my country first” approach, more and more countries have introduced stricter legislation on who gets citizenship.

It cannot and should not be ignored that Trump’s order takes citizenship away from people who would otherwise have it as a way to “protect the meaning and value” of citizenship. Clearly, the meaning and value in question is defined by concepts of race and “blood” ties. By narrowing definitions, the executive order marks a move away from a jus soli to a jus sanguinis system. It is a bureaucratic brick in the wall Trump has vowed to build, which could alter the foundations of the U.S. now and for generations to come.

A bougainvillea is seen in front of the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, in Mexicali, Mexico January 10, 2025. REUTERS/Victor Medina