Trump vows to end 'citizenship tourism' in US to 'deter more migrants from coming'

Former President Donald Trump has announced a plan to tackle "citizenship tourism" if he secures a second term in office. In a video posted on social media, Trump outlined his intention to issue an executive order that would deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.

“As part of my plan to secure the border on day one in 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 immigrants will not receive automatic citizenship,” Trump declared.

Trump argued that policies like birthright citizenship incentivize illegal immigration. He believes his proposed executive order will address the immigration crisis and encourage illegal immigrants to return to their home countries. 

The former president claimed that the order would bring an end to “birth tourism,” the practice of where “hundreds of thousands of people from all over the planet squat in hotels for their last few weeks of pregnancy to illegitimately and illegally obtain US citizenship for the child, often to later exploit chain migration to jump the line.” Trump clarified that at least one parent will have to be a citizen or legal resident to qualify for citizenship.

The proposed order, if implemented, would likely face pushback from critics who argue that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to all individuals born within the US. The amendment was initially intended to grant citizenship to freed slaves but has expanded to apply to anyone born on American soil. 

Trump's proposal is a direct response to what he describes as President Biden's policies enabling "mass amnesty" by creating easier pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Biden recently signed an executive order that would allow nearly 1.5 million illegal immigrants to cross the border into the US each year.