Global Courant
Calls to end birthrights for children of illegal immigrants are gaining momentum ahead of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, with at least three hopefuls now supporting the controversial move.
Vivek Ramaswamy said this week that he is in favor of ending the birthright for children of illegal immigrants.
“I think it’s going to be necessary for a while in this country because you have an influx of migrants across that southern border, over 14,000 a day crossing that southern border by some estimates. That’s not the rule of law, that’s giving up the rule of law,” he said on CNN.
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Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on July 1, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Michael M.Santiago/Getty Images)
“So if migrants come illegally, on purpose to gain an illegal foothold in the United States, then I think we shouldn’t abide by that in this country,” he said.
While citizenship by birthright confers citizenship on the children of legal immigrants in the US, the debate has focused mainly on whether that should also apply to those who are illegally resident in the country.
The 14th Amendment states that “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 in which they reside.”
Critics of the move have said it would require a constitutional amendment.
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“Our Founding Fathers decided that people who were born here were citizens immediately. Breaking open the Constitution to eliminate that right seems really idiotic,” said Miami mayor and GOP presidential candidate Francis Suarez, both of whose parents were immigrants from Cuba. last month to the Daily Caller.
Proponents have argued that the amendment has been misinterpreted – pointing to the requirement that the persons must be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US
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But as the US continues to face a border crisis, which conservatives say has been fueled by liberal immigration policies and other incentives — including birthright citizenship — the idea of limiting citizenship to children of citizens or legal residents has gained new momentum.
Former President Trump remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination. (SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump, currently the frontrunner in the primary, said in May that he would sign an executive order “on day one” that will instruct federal agents that the “proper interpretation of the law” does not grant citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants. immigrants, regardless of their place of birth.
“Joe Biden has launched an illegal foreign invasion of our country, allowing a record number of illegal aliens to storm our borders,” Trump said in a video posted to Twitter. “Even though these millions of illegal border crossings entered the country illegally, all of their future children will automatically become US citizens. Can you imagine?
“They will be eligible for welfare benefits, taxpayer-funded health care, voting rights, chain migration, and countless other government benefits, many of which will also benefit the illegal alien parents. These policies are a reward for violating the laws of the United States. States and is clearly a magnet helping to draw a tidal wave of illegal immigrants across our borders.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers remarks at Moms for Liberty’s Joyful Warriors National Summit in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)
Trump first made the pledge during his 2016 campaign and promised to end it several times during his presidency, but it never happened.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who currently ranks second in the GOP primary race according to polls, also supported the idea when he unveiled his border security plan last month in Eagle Pass, Texas.
“This idea that you can cross the border, have a child two days later, and somehow that’s a US citizen — that wasn’t the original conception of the 14th Amendment, and so we’re going to take action to to get clarity on that,” he said last month.
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“I think it’s wrong for people to use our land for things like birth tourism, so we’re going to remove the incentives to come here illegally,” he said.
It is the latest sign of a shift to the right by the Republican field on immigration. Candidates have already rallied around the Trump-era “Stay in Mexico” policy, which kept migrants in Mexico for their hearings and was shelved by the Biden administration.
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Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has pursued a muscular immigration policy that would see mandatory E-Verify and cuts to states that hand out benefits to illegal immigrants.
Meanwhile, DeSantis has pledged to seal the southern border on day one and “stop the invasion”.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at Twitter.
