After weeks of Republicans wondering just what Donald Trump’s actual positions are on, oh, just about anything, he released a six-page position paper on immigration reform, which is the issue which propelled him into the presidential sweepstakes.
Included in the position paper is a promise to end birthright citizenship, the means by which an alien can remain in the country after giving birth to a child in the United States, since that child would automatically become a citizen of the U.S.:
· End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal
immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry
Reid who said “no sane country” would give automatic citizenship to the children
of illegal immigrants.
Trump appeared on “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning, discussing his run for President with Chuck Todd. Following is a short clip focused on immigration.
Ending birthright citizenship is not a new concept. Bills have been brought up in the House of Representatives calling for an end to birthright citizenship. According to a 2013 report from the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2010 the U.S. had 4.5 million children born in this country to unauthorized parents. The Center for Immigration Studies has estimated that almost 200,000 children are born in the U.S. yearly “to foreign women admitted as visitors, that is, tourists, students, guest workers, and other non-immigrant categories.” Numbers USA also notes that the United States and Canada are the only developed nations that grant birthright citizenship to tourists and illegal aliens.
Ann Coulter is downright giddy about Trump’s policy paper on immigration reform. Early on Sunday, she posted this absolutely distasteful tweet, particularly for people who are pro-life, no matter their immigration beliefs.
I don't care if @realDonaldTrump wants to perform abortions in White House after this immigration policy paper. http://t.co/l7nq8gN7i5
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2015
But wait! Hold on — Trump’s immigration policy paper may not be the “spectacular,” “amazing,” “great success” he promises. Ron Fournier from the National Journal calls Trump’s immigration policy “gold-plated amnesty.”
Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Fournier said, “All Trump has said about immigration so far, is that he wants to kick everybody out, and let the good ones ‘back in,’ on an expedited basis. You know what that is? That’s gold-plated amnesty. That’s very expensive amnesty. The base doesn’t understand it yet, eventually they will.”
Fournier was referring this statement from Trump in a recent interview on CNN:
We have to bring great people into this country, okay? And I want to bring — I love the idea of immigration, but it’s got to be legal immigration. Now, a lot of these people are helping us, whether it’s the grapes, or whether it’s jobs, and sometimes it’s jobs, in all fairness, I love our country, but sometimes it’s jobs that a citizen of the United States doesn’t want to do. I mean, there are jobs that a lot of people don’t want to do. I want to move them out, and we’re going to move them back in, and let them be legal, but they have to be in here legally.…Otherwise, you don’t have a country. You don’t have a country, if people can just pour into the country illegally, you don’t have a country, but I would expedite the system.
End birthright amnesty? Yes. Secure the border? Absolutely. Do it Trump-style? Eh, be careful what you wish for. There’s a devil or two hiding in his details.
As a teacher, just reading his statement made my brain hurt. I know he’s intelligent, but someone please, PLEASE give him some public speaking (and writing) lessons!
I’m not a big Trump fn, but if he could move the discussion towards ending birthright citizenship and chain migration it will be a very good thing.
You *DO* understand that just because you are born in the U.S., it does NOT mean you are a citizen. This misconception requires a ridiculous mis-interpretation of the 14th amendment.
It is the same reason that children of visiting foreigners and ambassadors are not citizens.
from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1867379/posts
The original article has been taken down, but is replicated at the link above.
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