In October 2018 President Trump told Axios in an exclusive interview that he plans to sign an executive order to remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and illegal aliens.
In 2015 candidate Trump claimed he did not need a constitutional amendment to end this practice.
In 2013 295,000 babies were born to unauthorized-immigrant parents making up 8% of all US births that year.
On Wednesday President Trump once again said he is looking seriously at ending birthright citizenship.
The Hill reported:
President Trump on Wednesday said his administration is once again seriously considering an executive order to end birthright citizenship months after several lawmakers cast doubt on his ability to take such action.
“We’re looking at that very seriously,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for Kentucky. “Birthright citizenship, where you have a baby on our land — walk over the border, have a baby, congratulations, the baby’s now a U.S. citizen.”
“We are looking at birthright citizenship very seriously,” he added. “It’s, frankly, ridiculous.”
The president proposed ending the practice that grants citizenship to those born in the United States during his 2016 presidential campaign. He revived the idea last year, saying he would sign an executive order to enact the change.
Numerous lawmakers, including several Republicans, quickly pushed back on the idea and argued Trump lacked the authority to make such a change using an executive order. They cited that birthright citizenship is a right enshrined under the 14th Amendment.
Trump responded to the criticism by saying birthright citizenship would be ended “one way or another.”
