No need of constitutional amendment to make changes in birthright citizenship: Trump
Washington, Nov 1 : President Donald Trump has said that no constitutional amendment was required to do away with the birthright citizenship -- the process by which babies born in the country to the non-US nationals automatically become citizens -- as this can be done with an executive order, bringing his tough stance on immigration ahead of the crucial mid-term elections next Tuesday.
In his latest hardline immigration rhetoric, the US President had on Tuesday expressed his intention to take the path of executive order to deny automatic citizenship to children born of non-American parents in the US, saying the birthright citizenship "has to end".
"Birthright citizenship is a very, very important subject. In my opinion, it's much less complex than people think. I think it says it very loud and clear in the Constitution that you don't have to go through the process of whatever they're talking about," Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
"You don't need a Constitutional amendment for birthright citizenship. I believe that you can have a simple vote in Congress or it's even possible -- in my opinion, this is after meeting with some very talented legal scholars -- that you can do it through an executive order," said the US President.
At the same time, Trump said his first preference would be to make the changes through the Congress, which would be a permanent thing. "I would rather do it through Congress because that's permanent. But I really believe we can do it through executive order," he said.
Trump said that the issue would be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.
"Just so you understand, a person comes in -- was never in our country before -- has a baby, now all of a sudden the baby's a US citizen. And through chain migration and other things, many other people come in through the baby, it's ridiculous," Trump said.
Meanwhile, US lawmakers continued to criticise Trump for his view on birthright citizenship.
"This form of citizenship is explicitly enshrined in the 14th Amendment and cannot be undone by presidential fiat. But President Trump doesn't understand that, or care to, as he has apparently decided that flippantly threatening to upend the Constitution to exploit anti-immigrant sentiment is good politics," Senator Patrick Leahy said.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said that this is just another attempt to scare the electorate, with no basis in the Constitution, and to distract the country from the xenophobia and intolerance that has defined the first two years of the Trump Presidency.
"Democrats are offering a better deal, For the People, which put the people first. It means lowering health care costs and prescription drug prices; it means increases in pay through strong economic growth by rebuilding America; and, it means rooting out corruption and ensuring that Washington works for the people," she said.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
