Ramaswamy says at debate he would end birthright citizenship, echoing Trump

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy vowed to go a “step further” than his Republican rivals, leaning on his agenda to end birthright citizenship if he wins the White House — a promise reminiscent of former President Trump’s.

“I favor ending birthright citizenship for the kids of illegal immigrants in this country,” Ramaswamy said. “Now, the left will howl about the Constitution and the 14th Amendment. The difference between me and them is I’ve actually read the 14th amendment.”

“So nobody believes that the kid of a Mexican diplomat in this country enjoys birthright citizenship. Not a judge or legal scholar in this country will disagree with me on that,” Ramaswamy added. “Well, if the kid of a Mexican diplomat doesn’t enjoy birthright citizenship, then neither does the kid of an illegal immigrant who broke the law to come here.”

The 14th Amendment — approved in 1866 to guarantee citizenship and equal rights for those who were formerly enslaved — grants citizenship to all “born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 that the 14th Amendment applies to children regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Ramaswamy has previously questioned the status of birthright citizenship if elected to the presidency.

“There are legally contested questions under the 14th Amendment of whether the child of an illegal immigrant is indeed a child who enjoys birthright citizenship or not,” Ramaswamy said after a town hall in Iowa earlier this month.

Other candidates, including Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have already promised to end birthright citizenship. The former president’s campaign said earlier this year that he would end birthright citizenship by signing an executive order on his first day in office.

DeSantis’s campaign said citizenship rules as practiced now in the U.S. are “inconsistent with the original understanding of 14th Amendment.”

“We will take action to end the idea that the children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship if they are born in the United States,” the campaign’s immigration plan, titled “No Excuses,” reads.

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