Another Trump campaign promise to watch

Citizens of other nations can enter the U.S. on a tourist visa (or cross the border illegally), take a weekend vacation, deliver a baby, and the U.S. government will automatically bestow U.S. citizenship on the newborn. When the child turns 18, the whole family becomes eligible for green cards. This is incompatible with the global demand for U.S work permits and citizenship. Nor is it aligned with the historical reasons for making citizenship a birthright in the first place. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was intended to enfranchise former slaves and their descendants, not create the global “birth tourism” industry that we have today.

We are (hopefully) at the tail end of the greatest wave of illegal immigration in U.S. history. The Biden administration released roughly four million inadmissible aliens into the country. More than five million others snuck in or overstayed a visa. Voters soundly rejected Biden’s approach to immigration and a majority say those inadmissible aliens should be required to leave. The current practice of bestowing automatic citizenship to their children is an obstacle to correcting the last four years of reckless border policy.

Trump’s campaign promise

“Under Biden’s current policies, even though these millions of illegal border crossers have entered the country unlawfully, all of their future children will become automatic U.S. citizens,” President Trump said during the campaign. “They’ll be eligible for welfare, taxpayer funded healthcare, the right to vote, chain migration, and countless other government benefits, many of which will also profit the illegal alien parents. This policy is a reward for breaking the laws of the United States.”

Trump promised a “day one” executive order to end the practice of issuing automatic citizenship to children of illegal aliens and tourists. The next Congress can also introduce and pass legislation to limit automatic birthright citizenship to children of citizens, legal permanent residents, and aliens with lawful status who are in active service in the armed forces. In the current Congress, only 45 Representatives and 2 Senators have cosponsored Great Solution bills to clarify birthright citizenship.

Birthright Citizenship fact sheet

Six Great Solutions to achieve a better immigration policy

Congressional Grade Cards