President Donald Trump is reviving an old chestnut of the racist white nationalists and nativists led by Rep. Steve King (R-IA) – ending birthright citizenship in the U.S.
Michael Bryan and I have done many posts on this topic since 2010. But here is one I did from 2015 that predicted today’s move by “Dear Leader.” The Mass Deportation Party wants to nullify constitutional ‘birthright’ citizenship (excerpt):
“Birthright” citizenship is contained in the 14th Amendment, Section 1. It is not a “policy,” it is a constitutional right. If Steve “cantaloupe calves” King wants to change this, it will require a constitutional amendment. But his bill is proceeding on the assumption that he can nullify this constitutional provision by a simple legislative act. The right-wing National Journal even goes so far as to suggest that the “next president” (presumably a Republican) could do this by an executive order. This is how unhinged the leaders of the Mass Deportation Party are.
Cue today’s New York Times report, President Wants to Use Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship:
President Trump said he was preparing an executive order that would nullify the long-accepted constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship in the United States, his latest attention-grabbing maneuver days before midterm congressional elections as he has sought to activate his base by vowing to clamp down on immigrants and immigration.
“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,” Mr. Trump told Axios during an interview that was released in part on Tuesday, making a false claim. “It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”