Trump declares intention to terminate birthright citizenship
The article discusses Trump's comments regarding the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, highlighting his insistence that “We're going to have to get it changed."
TroibNews 
President-elect Donald Trump reiterated his intention to end birthright citizenship in the United States from day one of his administration but did not clarify how he would navigate the complexities of the 14th Amendment.
“We're going to have to get it changed. We'll maybe have to go back to the people,” Trump stated during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that aired on Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “But we have to end it.”
In the interview, Trump inaccurately claimed that the U.S. is the only country with birthright citizenship, ignoring the fact that nations like Brazil and Canada also provide similar policies.
When asked about his strategy for ending birthright citizenship, Trump hinted at the possibility of using executive action. “If we can, through executive action,” he remarked. He added: “I was going to do it through executive action but then we had to fix Covid first, to be honest with you. We have to end it. It's ridiculous.”
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, declares: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Changing this constitutional amendment requires approval by three-fourths of the states.
During the same interview, Trump expressed a desire to “work something out” regarding Dreamers, individuals who entered the U.S. as children and have since grown up there. “We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age,” he explained. “And many of these are middle-aged people now. They don't even speak the language of their country. And yes, we're going to do something about the Dreamers.”
He indicated a willingness to collaborate with Democrats on a solution for Dreamers, although he criticized them for making the process challenging and accused President Joe Biden of failing to address the issue over the past four years. “Republicans are very open to Dreamers,” Trump added.
On the topic of Dreamers, he noted, “They've become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases they have small businesses. Some cases they might have large businesses. And we're going to have to do something with them.”
When questioned about his stance on mass deportation and whether he still intends to deport all individuals living in the country illegally, Trump remarked, “I think you have to do it.” He specified that he would prioritize deporting those with criminal histories before expanding the effort beyond that group.
“It's a hard – it’s a very tough thing to do. But you have to have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know the people that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been on line for ten years to come into the country,” Trump explained. “And we're going to make it very easy for people to come in in terms of they have to pass the test.”
He elaborated, “They have to be able to tell you what the Statue of Liberty is. They have to tell you a little bit about our country. They have to love our country. They can't come out of prisons.”
Republicans expect Trump to prioritize immigration reform upon taking office. Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, who defeated Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio and is the state’s first Latino U.S. senator, affirmed that immigration will be a focus early in Trump’s term. “We're going to resolve immigration the first 40 to 60 days,” Moreno shared with a group of Illinois Republicans at a holiday luncheon event.
Moreno emphasized the need for immigration reform, stating, “We’ve got to fix immigration. This election was ultimately about two issues at the end of the day: open borders and high prices. That was the entire election, and we got to fix the immigration system. It's the easiest thing to fix intellectually. It's the hardest thing to fix emotionally, and I hope to play a role in making that happen.”
Shia Kapos contributed to this article.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
“We're going to have to get it changed. We'll maybe have to go back to the people,” Trump stated during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker that aired on Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.” “But we have to end it.”
In the interview, Trump inaccurately claimed that the U.S. is the only country with birthright citizenship, ignoring the fact that nations like Brazil and Canada also provide similar policies.
When asked about his strategy for ending birthright citizenship, Trump hinted at the possibility of using executive action. “If we can, through executive action,” he remarked. He added: “I was going to do it through executive action but then we had to fix Covid first, to be honest with you. We have to end it. It's ridiculous.”
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, declares: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Changing this constitutional amendment requires approval by three-fourths of the states.
During the same interview, Trump expressed a desire to “work something out” regarding Dreamers, individuals who entered the U.S. as children and have since grown up there. “We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age,” he explained. “And many of these are middle-aged people now. They don't even speak the language of their country. And yes, we're going to do something about the Dreamers.”
He indicated a willingness to collaborate with Democrats on a solution for Dreamers, although he criticized them for making the process challenging and accused President Joe Biden of failing to address the issue over the past four years. “Republicans are very open to Dreamers,” Trump added.
On the topic of Dreamers, he noted, “They've become successful. They have great jobs. In some cases they have small businesses. Some cases they might have large businesses. And we're going to have to do something with them.”
When questioned about his stance on mass deportation and whether he still intends to deport all individuals living in the country illegally, Trump remarked, “I think you have to do it.” He specified that he would prioritize deporting those with criminal histories before expanding the effort beyond that group.
“It's a hard – it’s a very tough thing to do. But you have to have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally. You know the people that have been treated very unfairly are the people that have been on line for ten years to come into the country,” Trump explained. “And we're going to make it very easy for people to come in in terms of they have to pass the test.”
He elaborated, “They have to be able to tell you what the Statue of Liberty is. They have to tell you a little bit about our country. They have to love our country. They can't come out of prisons.”
Republicans expect Trump to prioritize immigration reform upon taking office. Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, who defeated Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio and is the state’s first Latino U.S. senator, affirmed that immigration will be a focus early in Trump’s term. “We're going to resolve immigration the first 40 to 60 days,” Moreno shared with a group of Illinois Republicans at a holiday luncheon event.
Moreno emphasized the need for immigration reform, stating, “We’ve got to fix immigration. This election was ultimately about two issues at the end of the day: open borders and high prices. That was the entire election, and we got to fix the immigration system. It's the easiest thing to fix intellectually. It's the hardest thing to fix emotionally, and I hope to play a role in making that happen.”
Shia Kapos contributed to this article.
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
