Washington [US], June 1: Former President Donald Trump said that if elected president in 2024, he would seek to end automatic citizenship for children born in the US for illegal immigrants.
Former President Trump said in a campaign video posted to Twitter that he would issue an executive order instructing federal agencies to block so-called birthplace citizenship.
The executive order, scheduled for Trump's first day in office if elected again, would require at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident in order for their child to they automatically become US citizens, according to Reuters citing an announcement from the Trump campaign.
Any such action by Mr Trump will inevitably lead to a legal challenge, according to Reuters.
Birthplace citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, three years after the end of the American Civil War, ending the practice of enslaving people of African descent in the United States . Southern states and overturned the Supreme Court's ruling that slaves and free Africans were not entitled to American citizenship.
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all persons "born or naturalized in the United States", including former slaves, and has been interpreted to apply whether the parents are legally in the US or not.
While president in 2018, Mr. Trump said he planned to issue an executive order to limit citizenship by place of birth, but never did. Many legal scholars at the time doubted that Mr. Trump could use executive power to push back against the right.
On May 30, Trump also criticized President Joe Biden for the record number of migrants arrested for crossing the border illegally in recent years, calling citizenship for children born on US soil a a "magnet". Mr. Trump also noted that many countries restrict citizenship by place of birth to non-citizens.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper