Trump aims to end birthright citizenship, says American citizens with family here illegally may be deported
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Trump Vows End to Birthright Citizenship, Pardons for Jan. 6 Convicts
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Above: Meet The Press moderator Kristen Welker interviews Pres.-elect Donald Trump Image copyright: Peter Kramer/Contributor/NBC via Getty Images
The Facts
Pres.-elect Donald Trump in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press outlined his immigration plans, stating deportations would begin with criminals and expand to all unauthorized immigrants in the US.
Trump proposed ending birthright citizenship through executive action, despite this right being protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. He claimed the US is the only country with this policy but over 30 nations have birthright citizenship.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Those on the left and in the media who are spreading the notion that birthright citizenship is irreversible are just spreading propaganda for their open-border aspirations. The wording of the 14th Amendment allows Congress to determine what it means to be in the US legally, and an executive order from the president could do the same. If families with members who violated US law want to stay together, they'll leave together.
Democratic narrative
The answer to the humanitarian crisis Trump caused in his first term by separating families isn't to ignore decades of precedent and bypass the 14th Amendment to deport together families that include US citizens. Birthright citizenship is one of the most basic tenets of the Constitution and if Trump chooses cruelty and pain as part of his inhumane deportation plans, he'll surely be met with opposition from everyday Americans and the courts.
