It’s always difficult to assess just how a political story is going to blow up in the 24-hour news cycle. It definitely feels like these massive scandals, controversies and felonies happen, and then two days later everyone is talking about something else. When news broke Tuesday morning that Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship, I had a mixture of reactions. One, I thought “well, that can’t be done with an executive order.” Two, I thought “wait, didn’t he say that he wanted to do just that during the campaign, and everyone was like ‘oh it will never happen’?” Three, I guess I was just focused on how Trump is just throwing everything at “stoking hatred and fear towards brown and black people” ahead of the midterms.
In any case, no, Trump cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order. I mean, he’ll probably TRY to do it, but it genuinely feels like it’s just some stupid, jingoist, nativist, white supremacist bulls–t ahead of the midterms. Plus, I was feeling especially disturbed, since I only recently did the math on my own birth and realized that my father wasn’t an American citizen when I was born (he became an American citizen when I was about four years old). Yes, peeps, I too am an anchor baby. It seems that Mindy Kaling had a similar reaction: she’s a born-and-bred Massachusettsan, who just happened to be born to two Indian nationals:
Wait. I was born in the United States to two Indian professionals who later became proud citizens of this country. So… now I would be a citizen of India? My contributions to this country would be as a foreigner with no rights?
— Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) October 30, 2018
Pretty much – that’s what Trump and the Deplorables want. It wouldn’t matter if your foreign-national parent has a valid work visa or green card or is a permanent resident or even an undocumented migrant worker. You wouldn’t be an American citizen anymore, I guess. And I think that means me too? My mom was an American citizen when she gave birth to me, so does that count? Or would my citizenship be in question because my dad wasn’t a citizen when I was born? I guess Mindy and I will both be moving to India in the next month. See you there, Min!
Also: may the ghost of Hillary Clinton haunt us all.
This tweet from May 5, 2016 is looking prescient https://t.co/coDZr2qFWr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 30, 2018
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
He’s trying to force the issue to the Supreme Court. And that worm Lindsey Graham filed a bill in the Senate yesterday on this issue too.
No way, I didn’t know Graham had done that! When we reach a point where the crazy orange ignoramus is able to tell a Senator to fly in the face of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights, I guess Democracy is hanging by a thread.
My first thought, echoed by many, was ok…so the 2nd Amendment is sacred but the 14th is not? The hypocrisy is beyond, just beyond, mind blowing.
They despise every word of the 14th and would like nothing better than to repeal it completely.
Yeah, I heard last night that repealing it is a big tenet of white nationalism. I should have known.
2A is sacrosanct, but 14A and 4A: drive a railroad engine right through them, according to Trump. Except for his own family, then he wants total due process, birthright citizenship for his father (son of German immigrants) and no consequences for working during their tourist visas / easy citizenship for his Scottish born mother, and Slovenian born wife. More fodder for his base to outrage over, and (he hopes) gets them to vote in the midterms.
In the meantime, we’ve stopped talking about the Saudi murder, or the craptastic behavior of Trump;s cabinet secretaries.
This is a distraction. While we tie up the executive order in the courts for years, he and his cronies will be doing much worse things behind closed doors. Mark my words.
You’re 100% right!!
That was my first thought. They know damn well this is an incendiary issue that would nab headlines while they chipped away at other rights in small ways to build up to something worse.
Their distractions have a way of coming true though, with Graham doubling down on it with a bill. With all the distractions, they are managing to rip everything apart behind the scenes.
It takes 2/3 majority in the House and Senate and/or State Legislatures to overturn a Constitutional amendment. Unless Democrats refuse to turn out at all, Graham’s bill is just a political maneuver to encourage their racist base. And even if it drummed up that many votes, it would have to pass muster in the courts on a basis that wasn’t blatant xenophobia. That’s why BearcatLawyer is saying it’s a distraction. The chances of it passing are very slim, which is what will allow smaller things to get through that chip away at the foundation of human rights. That’s the danger we really need to keep an eye on.
Aside from him being a complete idiot about the Constitution (amongst so many other things), several people yesterday pointed out this would make 4 of his 5 kids anchor babies, esp if he tried to make this retroactive.
Exactly, guess Tiffany was his favourite after all!
Interestingly, even if the 14th Amendment could be overruled or eliminated outright by executive order or a simple act of Congress (spoiler alert: it cannot), US citizenship laws are always prospective in nature. To retroactively change citizenship rules is a Constitutional no go.
I think he’s only trying to make this apply to illegals not to every immigrant. Did Ivana come over her illegally? Melania did though right?
Not sure how it would work if they married a citizen. I know in UK they changed the law in the 80’s ? You don’t get to be citizen just because you were born there unless you meet certain criteria ( just using them as a example ).
But it is scary as FUK that people think he can just wipe out our constitution like that, be if it you agree with or it and that is the scary part.
He’s dipping his toe in the water to see what he can get away with in regards to subverting the constitution by executive order. He wants to suspend the entire constitution if the dems win the election and declare himself emperor. Straight out of Hitler’s playbook.
Melanina’s immigration status is highly questionable. She worked on a tourist visa, which is illegal, and she overstayed that visa.
Marrying a citizen doesn’t make you a citizen. It can allow you to change your visa status or get a green card but you still have to go through an application process
Ivana married a man from Austria to get out of Czechoslovakia. Marriage dissolved in months after she used Austrian status to get a visa to Canada. Snuck over the border and worked illegally at a ski resort in the US. So no, Ivana wasn’t here legally.
They’re anchor babies as it is now. They anchored their mothers. This would make people like them non- citizens.
HIS OWN KIDS ARE “ANCHOR BABIES”
What is WRONG with this moron?!! 🤯🤯🤯
Has anyone pointed this hypocrisy out to him? This is unreal. JFC
Thank you from pointing it out.
I came here to honestly ask would that cause him not be considered American? Aren’t all his grandparents and his mom from Europe?
it’s just ironic but most of his kids are born to immigrant wives? Does this end their citizen status?
No because
A) he’s not talking about retroactively cancelling citizenship
B) they were born to an American parent (him) and therefore this would not apply to them.
Gah.
Yet he insisted that Stanley Ann Dunham could not pass US citizenship onto her son.
@Lightpurple – a son who was, as it turns out, born on US soil. But Cheeto Mussolini has never let pesky facts get in the way of being an obnoxious, lying racist.
Lightpurple – exactly. If Pres Obama is not a citizen because his father wasn’t, then neither are Complicit Barbie and Beavis and Butthead.
Initially, upon reading this, I went absolutely berserk. Then I thought: you know what? He can’t achieve this between now and November 6th. So I am going to save ALL my energy for getting out the vote. After November 6th, I’ll take that energy elsewhere (I hope I don’t have to waste it on this travesty because it will have been shot down in flames by then). But for now, all that matters is that we get out the vote.
I just don’t have any more to give to his games and manipulations. This is going to be a long fight, and there is so much to be angry about. So much to grieve. Quite a bit to fear.
I have only so much energy. Right now, it’s focused on the vote.
Agreed. I reached my maximum capacity for rage over the weekend. I was phone banking last night and everyone else pretty much felt the same way, keep our heads down and focus on the vote. Talking to so many supporters — and even a few undecideds — helped ease my rage and anxiety, at least momentarily.
As I stated above, I don’t think he gives a flip about this happening before the election. And he doesn’t care if the GOP loses. He’s testing the waters to see what he can get away with. This piece of trash will void the election if he loses and seize absolute power if he can get away with it. And shred the constitution. And Republicans will cheer him on.
I don’t think he can void the election very easily, but I’ve worried that he could declare martial law on some pretext to keep people from the polls. Depends on how many Republican voters have voted early, since they would be blocked from voting also.
The Republicans have certainly been working overtime to purge potential Democratic voters from the rolls, though, even in states like mine where they had always told us they won’t do that. Plus they can manipulate the vote count pretty easily whenever there is no paper backup for those $&$&*# machines. So maybe martial law isn’t needed right now, they have enough other ways to get their guys elected again.
@jwoolman – I wish he would try to declare martial law. I am a lover and not a fighter, but in that case I will be the first to call for a civil war and show up on the front lines!
That’s how I’m trying to think of this too.
I’ve been waiting for your coverage since I read about this insane attempt to rally his base. I’m not a hard line constitutionalist, but Republicans and Libertarians are… If this fires them up, they’re the largest group of hypocrites on the planet.
So much for plain meaning and strict interpretation. Hypocrites.
He’s so cocky and full of himself that he thinks he can change the Constitution. He doesn’t have much support from many for this idea, but ass kissing Lindsey Graham is full steam ahead on Trumps side to make this happen
So maybe the idea is right that Lindsey Graham became a full-blown Trumpy after McCain’s death to get Sessions’ job as Attorney General.
Graham is too smart to think this idea can actually get enough support to thwart the Constitution. He’s just dancing for Trump’s eyes only.
I don’t know if she would be a citizen of India. I saw someone write yesterday that if this were to happen, the affected Americans, wouldn’t be citizens of any country, creating an entire new category of people. They would be, essentially, homeless. I don’t know.
Listen, no matter what, this is crazy. He’s insane. He’s a racist demagogue. I hate him.
Nope – she would be a citizen of India because India offers citizenship to children of Indian citizens born anywhere in the world.
Citizenship rights obv depend on each country, but if the parents hold citizenship of a country that allows citizenship rights to children of citizens (jus sanguinis) then the child would not be stateless.
That is a big IF. Jus sanguinis usually causes more problems than it solves.
For example, the US allows for transmission of US citizenship by US citizen parents to children born abroad under certain conditions. In most cases the US citizen parent must prove s/he was physically present in the US for a specific period of time (often 5 or 10 years) and that at least some of that physical presence occurred when the parent was a teenager or adult. I have a good friend who spent most of her childhood living overseas with her expat parents. She lived in the US only briefly as a baby and then was resident overseas for over a decade. Fortunately she attended boarding school and university and worked for a bit after college in the US. She later married a U.K. citizen and had two kids in the U.K. When she applied for US passports and certificates of citizenship for her kids, the US consulate gave her a very hard time about proving she was physically present in the US for 10 years. She had to pay a small fortune to obtain her school and medical records and had to dig for copies of her old tax returns, pay stubs, letters sent to her in the US, family photos, etc. in order to meet her burden of proof. She managed to convince the US consul, but for a while it looked like her kids would not get US citizenship through her.
So as much as jus soli gets a bad rap by MAGA types, it definitely protects innocent kids a whole lot better than jus sanguinis.
Canada is similar. I gained Canadian citizenship through my father who has lived in the US for 40 years but maintained Canadian citizenship. I think Ireland is similar. Not sure how easy it would be for some of these people from other countries though. 🙁
And, of course, creating stateless persons is an enormous human rights violation — even the State Department’s own website acknowledges this as a human rights issue. Not that the Republican Party even pretends to care about those anymore.
Trump has dozens of condos that are rented out to Russians so they can have their babies in the US. He makes money off this.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russians-flock-to-trump-properties-to-give-birth-to-us-citizens
Hmm. I guess it’s ok for Russians, because, you know, white.
Same group of Russians who converted (in name only) to Judaism to get out of Russia on a particular visa?
What?! I’m shocked more people haven’t commented on your post.
I still don’t understand how he thinks this would get past the Supreme Court. To revoke citizenship would affect thousands of people (including many of his supporters) or does he plan to only have this apply to “select countries “
What is 45 trying to distract the public’s attention from?
My question exactly.
This is the latest attempt to make immigration a hot issue and fire up his base for the mid term elections. It’s about getting his deplorable base out in force to vote and keep the Rethugs in power. We’ll see if it works come Nov 6.
A side note…a friend who lives in Chicago sent me an article that says early voting is up by 62% and is being powered by women. I only hope that plays out across the country.
I voted yesterday here in Texas. The polling place was packed. But after seeing Alexandra Pelosi’s new HBO documentary, “Outside the Bubble,” I am not sure increased participation by women necessarily means they are anti-Trump. Which scares me.
He doesn’t think it will get past SCOTUS unless he’s even more delusional than I can imagine — he’s engaging in naked race-baiting to (he hopes) maximize Republican turnout in the midterms. Not sure how well it’s going to work. In Texas early voting, Hispanic turnout is up >200% over 2014, and under-30 turnout is up > 500%. Turnout so far among voters under 65 was up way less — I can’t find it right now, but the number I remember is 68%. And that’s before this b.s. about birthright citizenship. I think there may be an almighty backfire effect.
I say do it. Also, let’s make it retroactive to Columbus so us Native Americans can start fresh and only let in people with a heart, conscience, believe in science, are not nazis and rapists. So, pretty much if you’re a republican, you’ll have to do a dna search on your ancestry because that’s your homeland.
I’m on board with that.
I like it, Tania!
Kaiser, we are in the same boat. I’m an anchor baby too. *eye roll* <- for Trump and Deplorables.
My dad is from Mexico, and was undocumented when I was born. Dad gained full citizenship in 2010. Mom was born in the USA.
I believe you’re fine as long as both parents are American citizens. My mom is legal immigrant and French citizen and my dad was born here so I *assume* my brother and I would be ok as well. The people who should be most concerned are those that were born here to two non-American citizens.
To all the people who say this is unconstitutional, a distraction, or something that cannot possibly pass the courts I have to ask: who’s to stop him? Who the hell is there to stop this guy from doing every f*cking thing he wants?
It’s never going to happen. He’s just trying everything he can to get Republican votes in the midterm. He’s pretty scared of the House flipping and possibly (small possibility) the Senate flipping.
He’s so disgusting with his appeals to racism and xenophobia and fear-mongering.
His motorcade drove past my residence hall yesterday leaving the hospital in Pittsburgh (which is right on my university campus.) I stood outside flipped him (and Melania, Ivanka & Jared) off for all you ladies as they drove by 🙂
Thank you
Thanks. He comes to my state Thurs for a rally in Columbia, MO. Hope all the college students come out in protest (apparently there is already a protest being planned). Then he is going to Cape Girardeau (home of the ever lovely Rush Limbaugh) on Monday. Get out and vote!
He’s coming to my city (Chattanooga) this weekend but I will be in Boston, thank God. That sulfur smell won’t be coming from the Tennessee river on that day.
He should come to Boston, actually. We’d love to give him the warm welcome that he deserves…
Oh Juls, my brother went to Baylor and I remember that sulfur smell was always the signal we were almost to Chattanooga. I have been helping my Dem friends back home and the Rep friends I have that are open to voting blue to get voting plans set up/early vote for Bredesen, but I have been seeing a lot of Marsha support lately on Facebook which is disheartening because Phil is about as moderate as they come and I know Trump has a lot of support in the state unfortunately and that is where that support is coming from. Hopefully you are having luck getting your friends to the polls as well because she is the worst option.
@Kitten: If he came to Boston, my sister would be right there beside you, at the front of the line, to give him hell. And Lordy, can she give it LoL. It’s hard to speak out publicly here. The trump love is strong, and people are armed and deranged. It’s scary.
@KG, Baylor campus is one of the most beautiful places in Chattanooga, and that’s saying something because there are a LOT of beautiful places here. I hate that it’s so “red”. Thank you for your support. I was considering driving people to the polls, but I have to go out of town so it didn’t work out. I pray that Bredesen wins. Blackburn is the devil incarnate.
Paige123, you are a true patriot. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I’ve been flipping off the Ron DeSantis’ folks who stand on the highway and the bridge above it with their signs. When my daughter looked at me, I was like: he’s a racist and its the one and only time you’re allowed.
@Paige123 — Bravo! And THANK YOU! You Rock Paige!!
Thank you!
OK so reducing down my brain power to trump level… is this basically him thinking ‘ok I got my guy on the SC now I can start doing all the crazy stuff I really want to and they’ll support me’? He clearly bases his decisions not on law, but on if he gets the ‘I got your back’ from the cronies around him (like what he expected from Comey and Sessions). I think that’s how he’s functioned his whole life. So Kavanaugh said the right things to trump to get nominated and confirmed. Now trump/gop will start pushing their agenda, maybe starting here and eventually RVW. The last little bit of hope I have left in me is praying that Kavanaugh will be fair and judicial (now that he got what he wanted) and wont be the guy, the mouthpiece, trump’s puppet in the only arm of govt trump doesnt control.
You are spot on regarding the orange turd’s mindset.
Re: Kavanaugh. He may turn out to be fair and impartial, but I doubt it when it comes to issues that affect women, such as Roe v Wade. He strikes me as the vengeful type (see: his furious and ridiculous outbursts at the hearing). Women are the enemy. Women made him look bad. He will punish us.
I’m still hoping Dr Ford files charges against him. That would cause a real investigation instead of the sham FBI one.
Juls: I unfortunately agree about Kavanaugh. He has already shown that he is biased WHILE being a judge in the past. Ugh. Just hoping for the best but eyes open here, not expecting it.
notasugarhere: Definitely. I can’t imagine how Dr. Ford is feeling right now, maybe questioning if it was worth it, her life forever changed. I hope she knows she is a GD saint to so many of us. History will prove us right in the end, she won’t be forgotten, she will always be a hero.
But to your point, hell ya file charges. And call grassley’s bluff on investigating the other accuser(s). All that will do is uncover the exact things they are trying to hide.
I’ve decided the last few days that I just want to live in an honest country and what now we don’t have that. This is clearly a White Supremicist talking point – drummed yo by people who want to keep the country “white”. The truth is while it may be a good idea to bring our immigration policies into the 21st century – we don’t really have an immigration problem. Illegal immigration from Mexico has been on the decline since 2000 and is currently at some of the lowest levels ever! Also about half of the “illegal immigrants” who entered this country for the last decade are White Europeans who overstay their VISAS. (I read somewhere recently that something like 700K never returned home after their VISAS expired, most from the U.K., France, Germany, Italy) But yet due to racism brown skinned Mexicans are always paraded out as the face of this “massive” problem – which really doesn’t exist.
Look into the citizen ships of his foreign wives. Ivana basically came out of her country illegally on a sham marriage. There’s not any readily information about her citizenship at the birth of her children that I’ve been able to find. Also with Melania and her son’s birth. She of course became a naturalized citizen and then through the concept known as chain immigration her parents became US citizens. So an individual born on U.S. soil and raised their entire life in the US has no rights of citizenship if their parents where foreign birth. But a person who takes a stupid test that was born and raised in a foreign country can become citizen. And in fact Melania only became a naturalized citizen in 2005. Before her son’s birth. Also please so pro-american why were two of his three wives spoilers begin with?
This doesn’t affect his children as they were born to an American citizen father. Even if the wives are illegal immigrants the children would have the right to be citizens because of their fathers status.
The Constitution spells out four paths for an amendment:
Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state conventions (never used)
Proposal by convention of states, ratification by state legislatures (never used)
Proposal by Congress, ratification by state conventions (used once)
Proposal by Congress, ratification by state legislatures (used all other times)
It is interesting to note that at no point does the President have a role in the formal amendment process (though he would be free to make his opinion known). He cannot veto an amendment proposal, nor a ratification. This point is clear in Article 5, and was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Hollingsworth v Virginia (3 US 378 [1798]):
The negative of the President applies only to the ordinary cases of legislation: He has nothing to do with the proposition, or adoption, of amendments to the Constitution.
Trump took the following oath (the same as other Presidents):
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.
He does try to end birthright citizenship, he is in violation of the oath he swore and should therefore be removed from office.
I think it’s all a big distraction from them wanting to hit Medicare, social security, pre-exsisting conditions, etc.
But he might try and the repugs might let him get away with it.
I was born to two immigrant parents. But when my sister was born, my parents were naturalized. So I guess she’ll get to keep hers whilst I won’t – if they ever enforce it retroactively.
Enforcing laws retroactively is generally illegal. Because it is only law from that point on when it was declared law. Only exception are gross crimes against humanity – they are always punishable.
As an immigrant I find this horrific. But I think when the orangeade meant “no birthright citizenship starting, say, 2019 or 2020 (or whenever the bill might pass), meaning Mindy has nothing to fear.
Remember when Obama was POTUS and they screeched whenever he’d use an EO for something (usually because the Republican-controlled Congress would sit on their hands and say NO because patriotism or something)? They insisted he was a tyrant who was pissing all over the Constitution.
Funny.
On the power of the presidential executive order:
Jackson said the President’s powers were at their height when he had the direct or implied authorization from Congress to act; at their middle ground – the Zone of Twilight, as he put it, when it was unsure which branch could act; and at their “lowest ebb” when a President acted against the expressed wishes of Congress.
If you look back at the history of our country, quite honestly it’s always been this divided especially over race and the rights of non-white people in general.
Most countries worldwide don’t practice “birthright citizenship”. So they are all Nazis?
It would appear that Trump does NOT want anyone other than white Europeans in the USA. If you’re white, you can basically do no wrong in his eyes (unless you’re Hilary Clinton) but if you’re non-white, he wants you OUT asap.
This man is an absolute fuck-wit…and is echoing many of the alarming actions/behaviours/attitudes of pre-concentration camp Germany/Hitler. People used to laugh off the comparisons between Hitler and Trump because it seemed impossible for Trump to get away with, or find support for, Hitler-like shit but…here we are!
Sadly, I don’t think he’s going anywhere anytime soon 😐
I have always loved your writing, and I love it even more that you are writing about Trump now. He is such a complete and total shitshow. Thank you for making me laugh about this, well, you know.
Pukie is just stirring up fear and hatred to help rebugnicans get voted in. That’s all he does is stir up fear and hatred. In my opinion, if he keeps stirring the 💩 pot, he should have to lick the spoon.