Can an executive order be easily undone?

Question

Following this answer, if the courts find the EO limiting birthright citizenship to be constitutional - what would prevent a future administration from rescinding it and recognizing all the people affected as citizens?

Answer 1

Nothing at all stops that from happening, but it won’t happen.

As the linked answer describes, an EO is an instruction to the rest of the executive branch on how to interpret, implement, and follow the law. This particular EO directs the branch to behave as though people born in the US are not automatically entitled to citizenship. This will affect, for instance, how the State department will respond to a passport application from someone who was born in the US to parents who illegally immigrated. It also directs the Attorney General to maintain this opinion in court.

But this is merely a matter of policy; executive orders are frequently rescinded by a new administration, and often followed up with a new EO instituting an opposed policy.

Thing is, though, the President doesn’t get to dictate how the Constitution is interpreted to anyone outside the executive branch, and they don’t get to ignore or contradict federal law (including the Constitution). It is certain that this EO will be challenged in court as violating the Constitution, and very, very likely that the Supreme Court will end up ruling on the question. Once that’s done, either the EO will have been found to be Constitutionally invalid (meaning no need for the next President to rescind it) or it will have been found to be the correct interpretation of the 14th amendment (meaning that the EO is just reiterating the law of the land, and that rescinding it would have no effect). Either way, It gets taken out of the hands of the Executive.