Donald Trump Plans Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship for Babies Born in the US to Non-Citizen Parents

US President Donald Trump has announced he will soon sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship for babies born on US soil to non-US citizens and illegal immigrants.

In an interview with Axios, the president said the planned executive order aims to “remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on US-soil.”

If it comes to fruition, the executive order would create a heated constitutional debate. The 14th amendment of the US constitution states that anyone who is born on US soil is an American citizen - the amendment does not preclude those born in the US to non-US citizen parents or even parents living in the US illegally.

“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,” read part of the 14th amendment,

In the interview with Axios, President Trump challenged the provision that has been in place for 150 years, saying “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States… with all those benefits,” adding “it’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”

The US Supreme Court has in the past ruled that children born of US permanent residents are US citizens, but has never ruled on those whose parents are in the US illegally or are in the US on temporary visas.