President Donald Trump warned Thursday that if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds current laws granting birthright citizenship to children born in America, it could lead to major economic consequences for the nation.
In an appearance during a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump stated: “We’re the only country in the world that has it.” He added: “You step into our country, and you’re all of a sudden a citizen.”
Trump argued that the constitutional provision was intended to apply to children of slaves after the Civil War and not to immigrants seeking citizenship. He specifically criticized the notion that such children would become citizens: “It was not meant for Chinese billionaires to have their children become citizens of our country.”
The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments over Trump’s executive order aimed at ending automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants and some temporary visa holders. The case centers on the 14th Amendment, which states that anyone “born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” is a U.S. citizen.
Trump described the upcoming ruling as “a very big one” and warned that upholding the current interpretation would significantly increase illegal immigration. He stated: “If this is allowed to stand, it will be a disaster economically for our country. You’ll have 25% of the people coming into our country coming in through birthright citizenship, and we won’t have any control.”
The president also criticized legal challenges against his administration’s efforts to end birthright citizenship, calling them “a disgrace.” Trump said: “Study the people that are bringing the suit. These are not people that love our country.”
He suggested the Supreme Court might rule against his administration: “They’ll probably rule against me because they seem to like doing that. Frankly, I’m not happy with some of the decisions.”
