Trump’s Threat to Rewrite the 14th Amendment Should Terrify Black Americans
Earlier this week, Donald Trump signed an executive order attempting to rewrite the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship, a bedrock principle of American democracy. This move has sent shockwaves through the legal and political landscape, not only because of its implications but because it represents a brazen attack on a constitutional amendment. Let’s be clear: this isn’t just about immigration. It’s about unraveling the fabric of our democracy, and Black Americans have every reason to be alarmed.
The 14th Amendment: A Shield Against Tyranny
Ratified in 1868, the 14th Amendment is one of the Reconstruction Amendments designed to secure the rights of formerly enslaved people. It granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” overturning the infamous 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which had declared that Black people—free or enslaved—could never be citizens. The 14th Amendment was a profound rejection of a dehumanizing doctrine, establishing equality and due process under the law as cornerstones of American governance.
Trump’s executive order threatens to reverse this progress, taking aim at birthright citizenship and undermining the very amendment that shot down the Dred Scott ruling. Attorneys general from Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois have already sued, describing Trump’s order as a modern-day attempt to resurrect the principles of Dred Scott. This isn’t hyperbole—it’s a calculated move to roll back over 150 years of civil rights progress. Their emergency motion read: "President Trump and the federal government now seek to impose a modern version of Dred Scott. But nothing in the Constitution grants the President, federal agencies, or anyone else authority to impose conditions on the grant of citizenship to individuals born in the United States.”
An Unprecedented Abuse of Power
No president in modern history has dared to issue an executive order contradicting a constitutional amendment. Why? Because constitutional amendments are not optional. They are the highest law of the land, requiring rigorous legal processes to amend or interpret. Yet, in Trump’s America, this foundational principle is up for grabs. His administration will more than likely fast-track the issue to the Supreme Court, banking on a conservative majority to reinterpret the 14th Amendment.
This is not just a theoretical concern. The same court that dismantled Roe v. Wade—a precedent many believed untouchable—could very well entertain Trump’s audacious bid. If the court upholds his order, it would set a dangerous precedent: the Constitution could be overridden by executive fiat.
A Slippery Slope for Civil Rights
If Trump can rewrite the 14th Amendment, what’s stopping him from targeting others? Could he issue an executive order nullifying the 15th Amendment, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting? Or the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime? Imagine the implications in a modern America where mass incarceration disproportionately affects Black and brown communities. The prison industrial complex has already been criticized as a loophole that perpetuates systemic exploitation, but repealing or undermining the 13th Amendment would obliterate any remaining safeguards against forced labor.
Black Americans should be particularly concerned. The 14th Amendment wasn’t just about birthright citizenship; it was a hard-fought victory for equality, justice, and the right to exist as full citizens in this country. To dismantle it is to open the door to the erosion of all rights gained through the blood, sweat, and tears of those who came before us.
What’s at Stake
This isn’t just about immigrants or children born to non-citizens. It’s about the power of a president to circumvent the Constitution, the guardrails of democracy, and the rights of every American. It’s about a leader who gave blanket pardons to January 6th insurrectionists—some of whom engaged in violent attacks on law enforcement and democracy itself—while simultaneously attempting to undermine the very Constitution they swore to uphold. This is bigger than politics. Trump’s actions are a direct challenge to the principle that no one—not even the president—is above the law.
And if you think this has nothing to do with you, think again. The erosion of constitutional protections doesn’t stop with one group or one amendment. It’s a domino effect, and sooner or later, you will feel the impact.
Clay Cane is a SiriusXM radio host and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans From the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump.