November 01, 2018:
President Donald Trump has said that no constitutional amendment was required to do away with the birthright citizenship.
Birth Citizenship is the process by which babies are born in the country to the non-US nationals automatically become citizens.
Changes could have been made with an executive order but the President has brought his tough stance on immigration ahead of the crucial mid-term elections falling on next Tuesday.
On Tuesday, US President had expressed his intention to take the path of executive order to deny automatic citizenship to children born of non-American parents in the US, saying the birthright citizenship "has to end".
Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday,"Birthright citizenship is a very, very important subject. In my opinion, it's much less complex than people think. I think it says it very loud and clear in the Constitution that you don't have to go through the process of whatever they're talking about."
US President added,"You don't need a Constitutional amendment for birthright citizenship. I believe that you can have a simple vote in Congress or it's even possible -- in my opinion, this is after meeting with some very talented legal scholars -- that you can do it through an executive order."
At the same time, Trump said his first preference would be to make the changes through the Congress, which would be a permanent thing.
He said,"I would rather do it through Congress because that's permanent. But I really believe we can do it through executive order."
Trump said that the issue would be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers continued to criticize Trump for his view on birthright citizenship.
Senator Patrick Leahy said,"This form of citizenship is explicitly enshrined in the 14th Amendment and cannot be undone by presidential fiat. But President Trump doesn't understand that, or care to, as he has apparently decided that flippantly threatening to upend the Constitution to exploit anti-immigrant sentiment is good politics."
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said that this is just another attempt to scare the electorate, with no basis in the Constitution, and to distract the country from the xenophobia and intolerance that has defined the first two years of the Trump Presidency.
She said,"Democrats are offering a better deal, For the People, which put the people first. It means lowering health care costs and prescription drug prices; it means increases in pay through strong economic growth by rebuilding America; and, it means rooting out corruption and ensuring that Washington works for the people."
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