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US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) signed two executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism, saying his administration was "cracking down very big" on what he described as abuses of the American immigration system following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office, Trump expressed disappointment over the SC ruling, adding "We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright [citizenship]... so we''re making adjustments." He added, "We''re cracking down very big... this will give us the right to do it in a much more forceful manner. They''ve taken birthright citizenship, and they''ve made a joke out of it." According to the White House, the first executive order identifies certain categories of children of foreign nationals who, consistent with historical exceptions recognised by the Supreme Court, would not be entitled to birthright citizenship. The administration said the categories are non-exhaustive and are based on the Supreme Court''s ruling in Trump v. Barbara. The second executive order delegates presidential authorities to the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security and directs both departments to halt the practice of birth tourism, under which foreign nationals travel to the United States primarily to give birth so that their child acquires US citizenship. White House adviser Stephen Miller said the executive actions were rooted in the original intent of the Fourteenth Amendment. "The 14th Amendment was passed exclusively in the aftermath of the Civil War to ensure that the children of slaves would be citizens. It had no other meaning and purpose outside of that," Miller said. He said the President was using his authority as Commander-in-Chief to expand the categories of people ineligible for birthright citizenship following the Supreme Court''s latest ruling. "That includes, for example, alien enemies in the United States, members of foreign terrorist organisations, and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments. By taking this action, it ensures that large numbers of people who wrongly would be getting birthright citizenship will no longer be eligible for those benefits," Miller said. Highlighting the second order, Miller called it a historic step. "For the first time ever in American history, birth tourism is banned. No one in the world is allowed to obtain a visa for this fraudulent purpose. This ends one of the gravest abuses of the American system and keeps American citizenship sacred," he said. White House Staff Secretary Will Scharf defended the legality of the measures, saying, "What we''re doing is taking legally validated means that are clearly within our disposal and targeting them squarely onto this birth tourism industry. There''s absolutely nothing in here that runs afoul of any of the Supreme Court''s opinions on the subject." The executive actions come weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled in June that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country are entitled to automatic US citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court also relied on its earlier ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, reaffirming that children born in the United States to foreign parents are entitled to birthright citizenship. (ANI)
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