Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump wants to deny
citizenship to the babies of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally as
part of an immigration plan that emphasizes border security and
deportation for millions.He would also rescind Obama administration executive orders on immigration.
Trump
described his expanded vision of how to secure American borders during a
wide-ranging interview Sunday on NBC's "Meet The Press," saying that he
would push to end the constitutionally protected citizenship rights of
children of any family living illegally inside the U.S.
"They
have to go," Trump said, adding: "What they're doing, they're having a
baby. And then all of a sudden, nobody knows ... the baby's here."
Native-born
children of immigrants — even those living illegally in the U.S. — have
been automatically considered American citizens since the adoption of
the 14th Amendment of the Constitution in 1868.
The odds of
repealing the amendment's citizenship clause would be steep, requiring
the votes of two-thirds of both houses of Congress and support from
three-fourths of the nation's state legislatures. Republicans in
Congress have repeatedly failed since 2011 to pass bills aimed at ending
"birthright citizenship." Some conservatives believe that the granting
of citizenship in such cases could be changed without amending the
Constitution.
"They're illegal," Trump said, describing native-born children of
people living illegally in the US. "You either have a country or not."
Trump's
remarks came as his campaign website posted his program for
"immigration reform." Among its details: Making Mexico pay for a
permanent border wall. Mandatory deportation of all "criminal aliens."
Tripling the force of immigration officers by eliminating tax credit
payments to immigrant families residing illegally in the U.S.
"The
wall will work," Trump declared Monday when he arrived for jury duty in
New York and a passer-by at the courthouse asked about that idea.
A
day earlier, Trump said a tough deportation policy was needed because
"there's definitely evidence" of crimes linked to immigrants living in
the country illegally. He repeated comments he's made previously, noting
that: "The good people can come back."
The New York businessman
also said he would waste little time rescinding President Barack Obama's
executive actions aimed at allowing as many as 3.7 million immigrants
living illegally in the U.S. to remain in the country because of their
U.S.-born relatives. Obama's November 2014 actions were halted by
temporary injunctions ordered by several federal courts in rulings
challenging his executive powers to alter immigration policies without
congressional approval. The cases could lead to the Supreme Court.
"We have to make a whole new set of standards," Trump said. "And when people come in, they have to come in legally."
Trump's plan was endorsed by Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who chairs a Senate subcommittee on immigration.
"This
is exactly the plan America needs," Sessions said in a statement.
"Crucially, this plan includes an emphasis on lifting struggling
minority communities, including our immigrant communities, out of
poverty, by preventing corporations from bringing in new workers from
overseas to replace them and drive down wages."
Most other GOP
candidates also back completing the border wall but differ over how to
treat immigrant families already living in the U.S.
Former Florida
Gov. Jeb Bush recently released his own immigration plan, which calls
for the use of forward bases and drones to guard the border, but also
backing an eventual plan to legalize the status of immigrant families.
On
Sunday, Ohio Gov. John Kasich said he would "finish the wall" but would
then work to legalize 11 million immigrants now estimated to live in
the U.S. illegally. He spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation."
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