Trump calls for end to automatic citizenship for children of illegal immigrants

By 
 May 31, 2023

According to Breitbart, former President Donald Trump is about to make headlines with a new video in which he promises to bar the children of illegal immigrants from getting citizenship. 

Breitbart announced on Tuesday that it had obtained an advance copy of the video. It reportedly shows Trump pledging to sign an executive order which will clarify that "the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship."

Trump says automatic citizenship is a "magnet" for illegal immigration

Under his proposal, citizenship would only be guaranteed for those with at least one parent who is an American citizen or legal resident.

The former president argues that such a move is necessary as granting citizenship to anyone born on American soil constitutes a "magnet" and "incentive" for illegal migration.

"Joe Biden has launched an illegal foreign invasion of our country allowing a record number of illegal aliens to storm across our borders," Trump can be heard complaining.

"From all over the world, they came. Under Biden’s current policies, even though these millions of illegal border crossers have entered the country unlawfully, all of their future children will become automatic U.S. citizens. Can you imagine?" he asks.

Trump calls birthright citizenship "a willful misinterpretation of the law"

"They’ll be eligible for welfare, taxpayer-funded healthcare, the right to vote, chain migration, and countless other government benefits, many of which will also profit the illegal alien parents," the former president continues.

Birthright citizenship is a controversial topic, with many legal experts arguing that the Constitution's 14th Amendment as requiring it.

"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," it reads.

However, Trump contends that the view is inaccurate, saying, "As has been laid out by many scholars, this policy is based on a historical myth and a willful misinterpretation of the law by the open borders advocates."

Legal debate over right to citizenship

Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz expressed a more nuanced view on the subject of birthright citizenship when speaking to students at Elon Law School in 2018.

"I think if a person comes to the United States as a tourist or in order to have a baby, has the baby here in the United States then leaves and goes to another country, I don’t believe that they are constitutionally entitled to citizenship, because they’ve never been under the jurisdiction of the United States," Dershowitz said.

"But, if you’re born to an illegal alien and you’ve lived in this country, 10, 15, 20 years, you pay taxes and you’ve been subject to the laws of the country, very hard not to conclude that you are a citizen under the constitution," he added.

In addition to illegal immigration, Trump also condemned the practice known as "birth tourism," something he said allows individuals "to jump the line and get green cards for themselves and their family members."

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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