SECONDNEXUS
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The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution is pretty clear when it comes to the citizenship status of babies born on the country's soil:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
That didn't stop President Donald Trump from telling a reporter on Wednesday that he's seeking to amend the Constitution by executive order in a further effort to suppress the rights of immigrants.
In the video below, a reporter asks:
"Are you considering an executive order on birthright citizenship?"
And Trump responds:
"We're looking at that very seriously."
Watch:
Trump says he's "very seriously" looking at trying to change the Constitution by executive order. "We're looking a… https://t.co/ZUI15e2wOl— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1566408787.0
Trump can't amend the Constitution by executive order. Full stop.
The constitution can only be amended through four ways. All but one of its 27 amendments has been approved by a two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress and approved by three-fourths of state legislators. Because an amendment can only be repealed with the passage of another amendment, there is no legal way for the President to unilaterally declare the 14th Amendment unconstitutional.
People were quick to point this out.
@thehill yeah well they can’t. it would require Congress not just an executive order.— sean 🌎🌍🌏 (@sean 🌎🌍🌏) 1566410955.0
@thehill Oh? Trump has a 2/3 vote in each House of Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures ready to ratify a Constitutional Amendment?— Dan Wentzel (@Dan Wentzel) 1566411542.0
@thehill They can “look at it” all they want. Ending it would still be patently unconstitutional.— David (@David) 1566413216.0
@thehill Right wingers: Mah guns are sacred cause constitution. Also right wingers: End birthright citizenship by executive order!— Nat Eschenique (@Nat Eschenique) 1566444958.0
But sadly, not everyone has full faith that the Constitution will be effectively upheld.
@Noahpinion @atrupar @crampell He can't. It's in the Constitution. What he CAN do, frighteningly enough, is get eno… https://t.co/42FIEFQvWR— Kat "Solidarity Forever" Callahan (@Kat "Solidarity Forever" Callahan) 1566438609.0
But what would that mean for Trump's children, the majority of whom were born of immigrant mothers?
@thehill Four of his children are birthright citizens: Don Jr., Ivanka, Eric and Baron from two of his wives whom… https://t.co/w7JyGzwpeK— Chris Hill (@Chris Hill) 1566412552.0
@thehill Well I guess Tiffany can stay.— Disbarbarr Disco🦠🎶🎶 (@Disbarbarr Disco🦠🎶🎶) 1566415174.0
Trump announced that he was looking into this for the first time ahead of the midterm elections last year, but it was largely seen as just an attempt to drum up Republican support ahead of the 2018 midterms.
With the recent move to detain undocumented immigrants indefinitely and another denying citizenship to documented immigrants on public assistance, his support for this unconstitutional effort may be invigorated.
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