US President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship by targeting individuals who allegedly enter the United States on tourist visas with the intention of giving birth.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump criticized the current interpretation of birthright citizenship, claiming it has been misused.
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“They’ve taken birthright citizenship and they’ve made a joke out of it,” Trump said, adding that his administration was introducing changes because the existing system was “very unfair.”
The move comes after the US Supreme Court, in a ruling issued in late June, rejected Trump’s previous attempt to limit the constitutionally protected right to birthright citizenship. Trump described the court’s decision as “very unfortunate.”
According to Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s senior advisers, the new executive order goes beyond addressing so-called “birth tourism.” He said it also seeks to deny birthright citizenship to children born to members of designated foreign terrorist organizations, as well as to individuals belonging to certain categories of people who lobby or act on behalf of foreign governments.
The latest order marks another effort by the Trump administration to tighten immigration policies and revisit the scope of birthright citizenship in the United States. Critics are expected to challenge the measure in court, arguing that birthright citizenship is protected under the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)
