Donald Trump says he can end birthright citizenship, something he didn't do as president
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WASHINGTON - Donald Trump is trying to bolster his 2024 presidential campaign with an idea he avoided during his presidency because it is probably unconstitutional: an executive order to end birthright citizenship.
"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 a newly released video.
Trump did not do such an order when he was president because attorneys advised him the courts would not allow it.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution - ratified in 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War - grants citizenship to "persons born or naturalized in the United States." While the amendment was designed to apply to newly freed slaves, courts have said it applies to anybody born in the United States.
Other Republicans - including Ron DeSantis, his closest 2024 primary challenger - noted that Trump did not try such an order when he was president.
The DeSantis War Room Twitter account noted that Trump pledged to end birthright citizenship shortly after announcing his first presidential campaign back in 2015.
"He had 4 years in office to deliver - but he didn’t," the pro-DeSantis group tweeted. "Now he’s making the same empty promise."
Trump and his supporters have said a new order might pass legal challenges, especially given a Supreme Court that has three Trump-appointed members.
Other legal analysts said Trump is merely playing to his political base and that his idea will not fly in the courts, positions they have held for a long time.
Back in 2018, Harvard legal scholar Laurence Tribe said, "Trump's ugly proposal will never become part of American law."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump wants to end birthright citizenship; courts may disagree
