Trump may sign executive order ending birthright citizenship

UNITED States (U.S.) President Donald Trump has threatened to sign an executive order to deny citizenship at birth to children of non-citizens and unauthorised immigrants.

The U.S. president, who is taking an increasingly hardline stance on immigration, said the “process” to end birthright citizenship by executive order is underway, and denied such a fundamental change would need the input of congress.

“It was always told to me you need a constitutional amendment,” Mr Trump told Axios. “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,” the president continued. “Now how ridiculous, we’re the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the U.S. for 85 years with all of those benefits. It’s ridiculous, it’s ridiculous and it has to end.”

Asked if he had consulted White House lawyers about such a contentious move, Mr Trump said he had and that it was “in the process, and it will happen”.

Any move by Mr Trump to end birthright citizenship would almost certainly spark legal challenges that would force the courts to decide on its constitutionality.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, U.S. citizenship is granted to any person born on U.S. soil, and ultimately stems from the Fourteenth Amendment of the American constitution.

The 1868 amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the U.S., and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the U.S. and of the State wherein they reside.”

Trump’s comments come ahead of the U.S. midterm elections that he has sought to focus on his hardline immigration policies. Seeking to energise his supporters and help Republicans keep control of Congress, the U.S. president has stoked anxiety about a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S.Mexico border.

He is dispatching additional troops and saying he’ll set up tent cities for asylum seekers.

In the final days before the November 6 midterm elections, Trump has empha- sised immigration, as he seeks to counter his rival Democratic party’s campaign.

Trump believes that his campaign pledges, including his much vaunted and still-unfulfilled promise to quickly build a U.s.-mexico border wall, are still rallying cries for his base and that this latest focus will further erode the opposition support.