President Donald Trump said Sunday that the Founding Fathers “are spinning in their graves” after his plan to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants hit another stumbling block.
On Thursday, a fourth federal judge overturned the president’s executive order from his first day in office.
Trump claimed he is following the 14th Amendment, but his opponents claim he is violating its essence.
“The 14th Amendment Right of American Citizenship never had anything to do with modern day” gate crashers, “illegal immigrants who break the Law by being in our Country, it had everything to do with giving Citizenship to former slaves,” Trump wrote in an interview with Truth Social.
“Our founding fathers are “spinning in their graves” at the prospect of losing our country. No other country in the world has anything like it. Our lawyers and judges must be tough and protect America!
The 14th Amendment makes it clear: “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.”
The Trump administration claims that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and thus do not qualify for citizenship.
The United States is one of about 30 countries that practice birthright citizenship, also known as jus soli or “right of the soil”. The majority are in the Americas, with Canada and Mexico among them.
