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Good evening. Welcome to the first edition of Logoff. This newsletter delivers the Trump news you need to log off and get back on with the rest of your life.
There are many things going on today, but I would like to concentrate on this. Legal battles over birthright citizenship; Because the consequences will affect millions of people.
What did the law say before Trump? Under the Constitution (the 14th Amendment, to be exact), nearly everyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday that changes that. This means that babies born to immigrant parents who are neither naturalized citizens nor lawful permanent residents will not automatically be granted citizenship. (Read more about my colleague Ian Millhiser here.)
So what happened today? Eighteen states have filed a federal lawsuit to block the order from taking effect, and the case appears destined to reach the Supreme Court. There, most legal observers expect the justices to side with the state (and there is 125 years of legal precedent) that birthright citizenship is constitutional. Although there are no guarantees (especially in this court), this executive order may be doomed to fail.
So where does this leave us? Unless something unexpected happens, birthright citizenship is likely to persist. There are two reasons to be careful. First, there is always the possibility of a shocking outcome in court. And second, the order itself shows how thoroughly Mr. Trump has dragged once-outlandish ideas into mainstream Republicans.
What is the larger lesson here? Mr. Trump entered office with a series of policy changes, none of them more significant than immigration. You will try almost everything. Some orders will survive. Others will be subject to lengthy legal battles. The outcome of these battles will determine whether President Trump succeeds in overhauling the immigration system or simply making a series of changes. And it will take a long time to get a final answer.
And then it was time to log off…
This is a red-tailed toucan. And birds like this are a big reason why Colombia's ecotourism industry is thriving. My colleague Benji Jones wrote all about this here.
