"We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end," US President, Donald Trump, said.
Donald Trump, President of the United States, is planning to sign an executive order that will revoke the right of citizenship for children of noncitizens born on American soil.
According to Washington Post, Trump revealed this in a television interview taped on Monday.
During an interview with Axios scheduled to air as part of a new HBO series starting this weekend, Trump was quoted as saying: "We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”
The US President said he has discussed the move with his legal counsel and believes it can be accomplished with executive action.
He said: “It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don’t. You can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they’re saying I can do it just with an executive order.
“It’s in the process. It’ll happen. . . with an executive order."
Legal scholars have countered Trump's move, as it runs against the provision of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which reads: “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".
However, contrary to Trump's claim that only the US offers birthright citizenship, NumbersUSA, a group that reports migration-related issues, listed at least 30 countries offering same.
According to Numbers USA, a report in 2009 listed countries that offer birthright citizenship as Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Jamaica, among others.