US President Trump’s limits on birthrights bad for the Philippines
February 5, 2025
MANILA – Among the hundreds of executive orders (EOs) signed on Jan. 20 by United States President Donald Trump, the EO which unduly limits birthright citizenship—the inherent right to American citizenship of those born in the US—is plainly disadvantageous to the Fil-Ams (and many other nationals) and ultimately to the Philippines. Why? Because Fil-Ams remitted a whopping 40.9 percent of total remittances sent by all Filipinos working abroad, constituting by far the largest share of the $37.2 billion full-year 2023 remittances, followed meekly by Singapore (7.1 percent) and Saudi Arabia (third at 6.2 percent). With this backgrounder, may I offer my two cents worth on why this EO violates the US Constitution and is therefore void.
THE 14th AMENDMENT TO THE US CONSTITUTION solemnly declares: “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 is the bedrock of jus soli—citizenship is conferred by the place of birth. Thus, babies born in the US are US citizens regardless of the citizenship, if any, of their parents, unlike in the Philippines where citizenship is determined by jus sanguinis, that is, babies get the nationality of one or both parents. Thus, those born anywhere in the world of a Filipino mother and/or father are Filipinos at birth; or by constitutional fiat, “natural-born citizens.”
Consequently, by their birthright, babies born in the US whose mothers and/or fathers are Filipinos are dual citizens of both the US and PH. They are not required to do anything to obtain such citizenships. In fact, in my humble opinion, they already possess Philippine citizenship at their