Trump Vows End to Birthright Citizenship, Pardons for Jan. 6 Convicts

Facts

• Pres.-elect Donald Trump in an interview aired Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press outlined his immigration plans, stating deportations would begin with criminals and expand to all unauthorized immigrants in the US.^[1]
• Trump proposed ending birthright citizenship through executive action, despite this right being protected by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. He claimed the US is the only country with this policy but over 30 nations have birthright citizenship.^[1][2]
• Birthright citizenship is automatically granted to anyone born in the US. For mixed-status families, Trump proposed deporting entire families together, including US citizen children, stating this approach would prevent family separation.^[2][3]
• Trump expressed willingness to work with Democrats on legislation protecting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, also known as Dreamers — undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. He noted that many Dreamers have established successful lives and businesses in America.^[1]
• Trump's deportation plan would affect an estimated 11-20M undocumented immigrants currently residing in the US, requiring significant expansion of existing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) infrastructure.^[4]
• In addition, in the interview, Trump also said he will consider pardoning the 944 who have been convicted and sentenced for actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol.^[5]

Sources: ^[1]NBC, ^[2]NewsNation, ^[3]BBC News, ^[4]Independent and ^[5]Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News and The Federalist. Those on the left and in the media who are spreading the notion that birthright citizenship is irreversible are just spreading propaganda for their open-border aspirations. The wording of the 14th Amendment allows Congress to determine what it means to be in the US legally, and an executive order from the president could do the same. If families with members who violated US law want to stay together, they'll leave together.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by Axios and The New Republic. The answer to the humanitarian crisis Trump caused in his first term by separating families isn't to ignore decades of precedent and bypass the 14th Amendment to deport together families that include US citizens. Birthright citizenship is one of the most basic tenets of the Constitution and if Trump chooses cruelty and pain as part of his inhumane deportation plans, he'll surely be met with opposition from everyday Americans and the courts.