Daijiworld Media Network – Washington
Washington, Aug 7: US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a new executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship, targeting what he described as people entering the United States under the guise of tourism with the intention of giving birth.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump said birthright citizenship had been misused and called for changes to what he described as an unfair system.
"They've taken birthright citizenship and they've made a joke out of it," Trump said.
The move comes after the US Supreme Court in June blocked Trump's earlier attempt to limit birthright citizenship, a decision the President criticised as "very unfortunate."
Trump advisor Stephen Miller said the latest order would also seek to deny birthright citizenship in certain other cases, including children of members of foreign terrorist organisations and individuals linked to foreign governments.
Miller claimed the order would prevent large numbers of people from receiving citizenship benefits they were not entitled to.
Last year, Trump had signed another executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the US to parents who are undocumented migrants or those holding temporary visas. The order was blocked by lower courts, which ruled that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born on US soil.
The Supreme Court later agreed with the lower court's position, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing the majority opinion, which was supported by conservative and liberal justices.
The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment states that all persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the country. The provision generally applies to those born on US territory, with limited exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats.
The Trump administration has argued that the amendment does not extend citizenship rights to children of undocumented migrants or temporary visitors. However, courts have rejected that interpretation, noting the longstanding understanding of birthright citizenship under US law.
The latest move is part of Trump's broader immigration agenda, which includes stricter border enforcement, deportation of undocumented migrants and removal of certain immigration protections for foreign nationals.