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For more than 150 years, birth on American soil has been understood as one of the clearest paths to U.S. citizenship. But after President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160 on the first day of his second term, the country was forced back into a constitutional debate many people thought had already been settled.

In this BTS Exposé Special Edition of Behind the Story, Jelani Gonzalez goes beyond the headlines to unpack the deeper history behind birthright citizenship: English common law, Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

This episode explores the phrase at the center of today’s legal battle — “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” — and why those words now sit at the heart of one of the most important citizenship fights in modern American history.

Jelani breaks down what the Constitution says, what the Trump administration is arguing, why courts have challenged the executive order, and what is at stake for children, families, immigrants, and the future definition of American citizenship.

This is not just a legal story. It is a story about belonging, power, history, and who gets to be recognized as fully American.

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