President Donald Trump’s proposal to issue an executive order ending the birthright citizenship has confused his fellow Republicans, which has resulted in many conservative candidates breaking with the President regarding his latest plan on immigration, just a week before midterm elections.
“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…with all of those benefits,” Trump said in an interview with Axios. The President seemed to ignore that 30 other countries grant birthright citizenship.
The President noted that he could sign an executive order to nullify the constitutional amendment; however, lawmakers, as well as legal experts, claim that Trump didn’t have that kind of authority. In order to override the 14th Amendment which guarantees birthright citizenship, Congress would need to give a proposal for another congressional amendment and have the signatures of two-thirds of the House and Senate. Then, the proposed amendment would need to be approved by three-quarters of the states in order to be ratified.
According to Democrats, Trump’s latest immigration plan is no more than “election season catnip” as the Trump administration is making efforts to keep a Congress majority and is similar to the President’s hostile rhetoric against the migrant caravan.
“The President doesn’t have this authority, but he does have an interest in dividing the country and riling up his base,” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel tweeted on Tuesday. “This is midterm election nonsense.”
The President’s newest proposal could cause more damage than good for Republicans facing tough midterm challenges, and many GOP candidates have broken with the President over it.
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