President Trump said he is looking to rollback so-called birthright citizenship. In an interview released Tuesday, the president said he was planning to sign an executive order to end the long-disputed practice.
Proponents of birthright citizenship say it allows anyone born on U.S. soil to be granted automatic U.S. citizenship regardless of legal status of the parents.
However, critics are saying the practice stems from a misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment.
“You can definitely do it with an act of Congress, but now they are saying I can do it with an executive order,” stated President Trump. “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in has a baby and that baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits — it’s ridiculous, ridiculous and it has to end.”
FILE – In this March 13, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a tour as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego. As Trump sends more than 5,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border, the soldiers will be limited in what they are allowed to do under federal laws that restrict the military from engaging in law enforcement on American soil. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
According to Michael Anton — a former National Security official for the Trump administration — the clause is meant to be a failsafe to ensure citizenship for the children of naturalized citizens and legal immigrants.
He is arguing that birthright citizenship as it is used now potentially undercuts the legitimacy of the U.S. government.
“The United States is a government based on social compact theory — the idea of birthright citizenship or any involuntary citizenship is inconsistent with social compact theory,” stated Anton. “So if you want to reject those principles you have to reject social compact theory, which means you have to reject the bedrock basis, philosophic, political, legal, constitutional bedrock basis for the legitimacy of the United States government.”
President Trump has long criticized birthright citizenship, saying it has been a key motivator for illegal immigration.
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:14 PM PT — Tues. Oct. 30, 2018
