MAINE PUBLIC • January 27, 2025
To defend its executive order ending birthright citizenship, the Trump administration is citing a 19th century law that once excluded Native Americans from holding that status. Attorneys for the Justice Department raised a nearly 150-year-old case that claimed that tribal members were not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and therefore constitutionally ineligible for citizenship. Maulian Bryant, executive director of the Wabanaki Alliance, said though the Trump administration's birthright order has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, Bryant said it's unfair to use the status of indigenous people to promote a policy agenda. Wabanaki leaders say they're debating whether to revive a 2022 legislative proposal to allow tribal nations in Maine to benefit from future federal laws.