Progressives in Congress and other immigrant rights advocates harshly criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in an interview Sunday for comments he has made on immigration, including his desire to end birthright citizenship.
In a 76-minute interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker, President Trump said he would “absolutely” abolish birthright citizenship, possibly through executive order, despite the 14th Amendment. Ta. Among the many lies told by Republicans was the false claim that the United States is the only country that offers citizenship by birth. There are actually dozens of them.
In response, outgoing Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) tweeted Monday on social media: “This is completely un-American. The 14th Amendment guarantees birthright citizenship. President Trump cannot end this unilaterally, and any attempt to do so will be dangerous.” It is unconstitutional and immoral. ”
Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) similarly said, “Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Constitution as a cornerstone of the American ideal. It reflects our belief that America is the land of opportunity. “Sadly, this is just one part of a long history.” This is President Trump’s attack on the US Constitution. ”
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, said in a statement: It’s important to remember who we are, where many of us come from, and why so many of our families came here to be greeted by Lady Liberty, Mother of the Exiles. is. ”
“The story of our country is the sweat, tears, joy, dreams, and hopes of so many immigrant children who are citizens by birthright and proud to be Americans,” Ramirez said. It would not be complete without it.” Many IL-03 communities were strengthened by immigrants from Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Mexico, Guatemala, and more. This is the story of many legislators who can point to their citizenship. Because of immigration and birthright, ancestors and ancestry. ”
“To be clear, President Trump is raising the question of who is an American for our country, and given that today’s immigrants are from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central and South America, , it’s clear that we’re questioning who are Americans and the ‘right’ people who benefit from birthright citizenship,” she continued. “Questioning birthright citizenship is anti-American, and eliminating it through presidential action is unconstitutional. Donald Trump knows it.”
“But emboldened by a Supreme Court willing to use its power to uphold white supremacy rather than our Constitution, President Trump is on a mission to undermine the very soul of our country,” she warned. did. “I, like so many sons and daughters of immigrants and first-generation Americans, believe in and fight for a land of freedom, opportunity, and equality. To keep that promise, we believe in white nationalism. must be opposed at the highest levels of government, especially if it is supported in the United States.”
Republicans are expected to control both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives next year, but a constitutional amendment process would require support from two-thirds of both chambers and three-quarters of state legislatures, making it possible that the process could be attempted. means low. This policy.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D.Y.) emphasized the difficulty of passing a constitutional amendment while discussing President Trump on Monday’s CNN appearance. The next president of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus is a native of the Dominican Republic and the first undocumented immigrant to be elected to Congress.
Mother Jones reporter Isabella Diaz elaborated on Monday:
Critics of eliminating birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants say it would not only be bad policy, it would be a betrayal of American values, and one scholar told me It claims it will be a “prelude” to mass deportations.
“This is actually the accepted interpretation for 100 years,” Hiroshi Motomura, an immigration and citizenship scholar at UCLA School of Law, told me about birthright citizenship. Abolishing birthright citizenship would cut at the heart of the hard-earned guarantee of equal treatment under the law and would “fundamentally draw a line between two types of American citizens. “It will happen,” he said.
In President Trump’s NBC interview, he also mentioned mass deportations, which he had long promised. The first administration was universally condemned for separating immigrant families at the southern border, and the second administration is already filling up with hardliners — the president-elect on Sunday announced that U.S. citizen children of undocumented parents He suggested the idea of deporting him from the country.
President Trump told Welker, “I don’t want to tear families apart. So the only way to not tear families apart is to keep families together and send everyone back.”
In response, Vanessa Cárdenas, executive director of America’s Voice, said in a statement on Monday: “While there is a growing consensus that Trump’s mass deportation plan will severely harm American consumers and industry, “The scope of what he and his team are proposing goes far beyond the economic impact.” . ”
“Trump and his allies have made it clear that their mass deportation agenda includes the expulsion of U.S. citizens, including children, while aiming to destroy a century and a half of legal and moral precedent regarding birthright citizenship.” ” she added. “Overall, their attacks extend far beyond the narrow lens of immigration to the fundamental question of who becomes an American.”
