Washington — After years of criticizing the constitutional right, President-elect Donald Trump says he will end birthright citizenship.
in one Interview Trump said on NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday that he “absolutely” still plans to end birthright citizenship on the first day of his presidency. “We have to end this,” Trump told host Kristen Welker. in a video post 2023Trump had said he would sign an executive action to do so on his first day in office.
What is birthright citizenship and is it in the US Constitution?
Birthright citizenship automatically grants citizenship to anyone born on US soil, regardless of the citizenship status of the parents.
civil section, under 14th amendment The Constitution states that “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.”
Congress passed the 14th Amendment in 1866, during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. In 1868, the amendment was ratified to grant citizenship to people born on American soil, thereby invalidating the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, which had barred slaves and descendants of slaves from becoming citizens.
Why does Trump want to end birthright citizenship?
Trump has been talking abolition of birthright citizenship Since his presidential campaign in 2015 policy paper At the time, he called birthright citizenship “the biggest magnet for illegal immigration.” In a 2023 video, Trump attributed birthright citizenship to “birth tourism”, in which he said migrants spend the last weeks of their pregnancies in hotels to give birth in the US and then to bring relatives to the US. Use the child's citizenship status. Through “chain migration,” also known as family-based migration.
during his first termTrump promised to end birthright citizenship but did not do so. He told “Meet the Press” that he planned to sign an executive action on birthright citizenship before turning his attention to fighting COVID-19.
Peter Kramer/NBC via Getty Images
Trump called the guarantee of citizenship by birth “ridiculous”, telling Welker that the US is the only country with birthright citizenship. In fact, dozens of other countries have birthright citizenship.
Trump complained, “If anybody sets foot on our soil — just one foot, one foot, you don't need two — congratulations, you're now a citizen of the United States of America.” “We're going to end it because it's ridiculous.”
Opponents of birthright citizenship say it was never intended to cover children of undocumented immigrants or so-called “birth tourism.” They argue that the amendment was ratified to eliminate barriers to birthright citizenship based on race.
More broadly, the pledge is part of the bill Trump has radical change on immigration The campaign on which he campaigned was part of a promise to target both unauthorized and legal immigrants by using unprecedented measures to test the limits of his authority.
Can Trump end birthright citizenship?
When asked if he could get around the 14th Amendment through executive action, Trump acknowledged, “It probably has to go back to the people, but we have to end it,” indicating that He may try to initiate a constitutional amendment to end it. Rights if necessary. He made clear that he would try to end birthright citizenship through executive action “if we could.”
Can Trump revoke birthright citizenship through executive action?
“The answer is no,” said Michael LeRoy, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Labor and Employment Relations and College of Law. This is because the President does not have the authority to change the Constitution unilaterally.
It would also be nearly impossible to eliminate birthright citizenship through a constitutional amendment, as it requires broad approval not only from Congress but also from the states.
what is contained in the constitution can not be changed Either by regular Congress vote. Amendments must be approved not only by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, but by three-fourths of the state legislatures, or three-fourths of the conventions called in each state for ratification. It is a comprehensive process with a high level.
LeRoy said the only time a constitutional amendment has been repealed in American history was when the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of narcotics, known as Prohibition, was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Was cancelled.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina They say He is working on drafting a constitutional amendment to end this practice.
Is there birthright citizenship in countries other than the US?
The US is far from the only country with birthright citizenship, although unconditional birthright citizenship is more common in North and South America than in the rest of the world.
Unlike some countries, the US does not require that the parents be citizens for a child born on US soil to become a citizen. It is automatic.
Complete list of countries with birthright citizenship
According to the Central Intelligence Agency, more than 30 countries have birthright citizenship. World Factbookthey include:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- argentina
- Azerbaijan
- barbados
- belize
- bolivia
- brazil
- Canada
- chile
- costa rica
- Cuba
- Dominica
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Gambia
- Grenada
- guatemala
- guinea-bissau
- Guyana
- honduras
- Jamaica
- Lesotho
- mauritius
- Mexico
- Nepal
- nicaragua
- Pakistan
- panama
- paraguaya
- peru
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- tuvalu
- United States of America
- uruguay
- Venezuela