Donald Trump vowed in a campaign video released Tuesday to end birthright citizenship on “day one” of his presidency if he wins the 2024 election.
The former president claimed the Constitutional guaranteeing of U.S. citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, was “not working” in a lengthy, dog whistle-filled screed in which he fearmongered about criminals and people with mental health issues invading the country.
Trump, the current GOP frontrunner, vowed to nullify the clause of the 14th Amendment via a simple executive order, even though the actual process required to make an amendment is “quite onerous,” per the White House,” and much more complicated.
“As part of my plan to secure the border on day one, my new term in office, I will sign an executive order making clear to federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law, going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship,” Trump said in the video.
“It’s things like this that bring millions of people to our country,” he added.
Trump also floated the idea when he was president, calling birthright citizenship “frankly ridiculous.”
But he never acted on his vow.
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment states:
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. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
In his new video, Trump didn’t detail exactly how he’d navigate the process of nullifying the right enshrined in the Constitution. He also didn’t explain why he reneged on his promise to do so during his first term in office.