President-elect Donald Trump’s push to abolish birthright citizenship for people born on U.S. soil to illegal immigrant parents could end a bitter constitutional debate that has gripped the country for decades. .
The president-elect has repeatedly vowed to abolish birthright citizenship immediately after taking office, making this one of the most ambitious agenda items in his immigration enforcement platform. The proposal has divided opinion between border hardliners and immigration advocates, but both sides generally agree that the debate ultimately comes down to interpretation of the border treaty. 14th Amendmentthat conclusion is likely to be left to the Supreme Court. (Related: Eric Adams considers end run around Democratic-controlled City Council to shut down sanctuary policies)
“The 14th Amendment applies only to those born in the United States to parents who resided in the United States with U.S. permission,” said Christopher Hajek, director of litigation at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI). “It confers citizenship at birth,” said Christopher Hajek, director of litigation at the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI). A Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for stricter immigration laws told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “That was the Supreme Court decision. Won Kim Ark vs. Americathis case is still under management. ”
“The court reasoned that only those residing here with permission meet the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement that they be ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States,” Hajek continued. “Under this rule, children of illegal aliens (who do not live here with permission) and children of tourists (who do not live here but are just visiting) cannot be born here. Not a citizen for a reason.”
CIUDAD HIDALGO, MEXICO – OCTOBER 21: Members of a migrant caravan cross the Guatemalan border into Mexico’s interior near Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, on October 21, 2018. The plan is to reach the United States. US President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap a recent trade deal with Mexico and withhold aid to Central American countries if the caravan is not stopped before it reaches the US. (Photo by John Moore) /Getty Images)
Wong Kim Ark v. United States of America 1898 Supreme Court The case that established birthright citizenship as a constitutional right. However, the decision was not unanimous, with Chief Justice Melville Fuller and Associate Justice John Harlan dissenting from the majority opinion. Their dissenting opinion argues that Chinese foreigners are not subject to U.S. “jurisdiction” because they retain loyalty to the Chinese emperor, and go a long way toward modern-day challenges to this landmark decision. I opened it.
Trump campaigned heavily on hard-line immigration policies and won on Election Day. If the government does not do more to stop illegal activity, the next president will restart construction of the southern border wall, carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, reinstate the Remain in Mexico program, and engage in negotiations with Mexico. He vowed to impose exorbitant tariffs on both Canadian countries. Migration, among other suggestions.
The to-do list also includes revisiting the first sentence of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment. It is stated as follows: United States and the state in which they reside. ”
“That’s going to have to change. Maybe we’re going to have to go back to the people,” Trump said. Like Sunday these days He said this in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “But we have to end it.”
Asked how he could accomplish that, the president-elect said, “Hopefully through executive action.”
Hajek told DCNF that Trump’s claim to strip birthright citizenship from people born to illegal immigrant parents is the correct interpretation of the law.
Those on the left who support lax immigration laws understandably do not support this idea. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) calls this idea “clearly violating the constitution” by the American Immigration Lawyers Association. has long been proposed To protect current legal interpretations.
A spokesperson for the Migration Policy Institute declined to comment on the legality of Trump’s proposal, but noted that the DCNF: previous research It warned primarily from a humanitarian standpoint. The MPI study concluded that stripping birthright citizenship would create a “permanent class” of excluded members of society and actually increase the number of illegal immigrants living in the United States.
But border hawks argue that a misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment encourages illegal immigration into the United States, and that over the years millions of foreigners have flocked to the country in hopes of gaining citizenship for their children. This is a milestone that will pave the way for the individual’s family. We need to ensure that our troops remain and enjoy the significant taxpayer-funded benefits.
“President-elect Trump is right: Birthright citizenship should be abolished,” Joey Chester, communications manager for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), told DCNF. “Birthright citizenship rewards undocumented immigrants, ultimately giving U.S. citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants and increasing the likelihood that undocumented parents will obtain permanent resident status, thereby increasing the It will encourage illegal immigration.”
Top Shot – Migrants illegally enter the United States from Mexico through a hole in the border fence in El Paso, Texas, on December 21, 2022. (Photo by Alison Diener/AFP) (Photo by Alison Diener) Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)
corporate media punish immediately President Trump falsely claimed on Sunday that the United States is the only country in the world that grants birthright citizenship, but that surprisingly few countries around the world do so. According to CIA World Fact Book. Not a single European Union member state offers unconditional citizenship at birth, nor do many other US allies in the West.
There was approximately 250,000 babies She was born to illegal immigrant parents in 2016, long before the Biden-Harris administration sparked an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis. This problem is not limited to illegal immigrants. U.S. birthright citizenship has even spawned an international industry known as “birth tourism,” with hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals on tourist visas believed to give birth on U.S. soil each year. (Related: Birth tourism hotels catering to Chinese people ordered to close)
The United States experienced a dire border crisis under the Biden-Harris administration, making 2023 and 2024 the worst years in U.S. history for migrant encounters. Roughly 8.5 million migrants were encountered along the southern border during Biden’s four fiscal years in the White House, and most polls show immigration is a major concern for U.S. voters. .
FAIR called on President Trump and the Republican Party in Washington, D.C., to finally take action on the birthright citizenship issue, but also acknowledged that a legal battle will undoubtedly ensue.
“Congress must pass legislation that interprets the full text of the 14th Amendment and makes clear that children born to illegal aliens in the United States are not entitled to U.S. citizenship,” Chester said in DCNF. told. “Unfortunately, if President-elect Trump abolishes birthright citizenship by executive action or by signing a bill passed by Congress, open border advocates will immediately file lawsuits to reverse this action. We know.”
The ACLU is just one of many large liberal groups opposing President Trump’s immigration policies, but it claims it has filed more than 400 legal cases against President Trump and his first administration since 2016. There is. The group is reportedly developing an action plan to thwart President Trump’s second term in border security proposals.
“Ultimately, the Supreme Court will have to decide this issue,” Chester concluded.
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