In a surprising announcement, Vivek Ramaswamy expressed his intention to eliminate birthright citizenship in the U.S. if he assumes the role of President. This proposal echoes a similar stance put forth by former President Donald Trump during his 2015 presidential campaign. When questioned by Univision host Ilia Calderón about the legal basis for expelling undocumented immigrants and their U.S.-born children, Ramaswamy differentiated himself from fellow candidates by advocating for an even more stringent approach.
While acknowledging that others on stage supported measures like the militarization of the southern border, defunding sanctuary cities, and terminating foreign aid to Mexico and Central America, Ramaswamy took a more assertive stance. He proposed going a step beyond by ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. Citing the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to those born in the U.S., he argued that children born to undocumented immigrants should not be granted citizenship due to their parent’s violation of the law.
Ramaswamy, a father of two sons, expressed the personal struggle of upholding the importance of following the law when the government itself fails to do so. He emphasized, “The children of undocumented immigrants born in the United States should not be granted citizenship because their parents broke the law to be in the country.”
It’s worth noting that the issue of birthright citizenship has been a recurrent theme among Republican candidates, with Trump proposing a similar idea in 2015. Although Trump intended to issue an executive order in 2018 to end automatic citizenship for those born to noncitizens, this order never materialized, as reported by The Washington Post.
