Birthright citizenship was for children of slaves, not for world to 'pile' into US: Donald Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has said that birthright citizenship was primarily intended for the children of slaves and not for the whole world to "come in and pile" into the US.
On the very first day of his inauguration, Trump issued an executive order against birthright citizenship, which was struck down by a federal court in Seattle the next day.
Trump has said that he would appeal against it. On Thursday, he exuded confidence that the Supreme Court would rule in his favour.
“Birthright citizenship was, if you look back when this was passed and made, that was meant for the children of slaves. This was not meant for the whole world to come in and pile into the United States of America,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House.
“Everybody coming in, and totally unqualified people with perhaps unqualified children. This wasn't meant for that," he said.
Asserting that it was meant for the children of slaves," he said it was a "very good and noble" thing to do.
"I'm in favour of that 100 percent. But it wasn't meant for the entire world to occupy the United States,” Trump said.
“I just think that we'll end up winning that in the Supreme Court. I think we're going to win that case. I look forward to winning it."
"At that level, we're the only country in the world that does this," he said.
Early this week, a group of Republican Senators introduced a bill in the US Senate to restrict birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and non-immigrants on temporary visas.
According to Senators Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and Katie Britt, who introduced the bill, the exploitation of birthright citizenship is a major pull factor for illegal immigration and a weakness for national security.
The US is one of only 33 countries in the world with no restrictions on birthright citizenship, they said. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that in 2023, there were 2,25,000 to 2,50,000 births to illegal immigrants, amounting to close to seven percent of births in the US.
The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2025 specifies who can receive citizenship by virtue of their birth in the United States, including children born to at least one parent who is either a citizen or national of the US, a lawful permanent resident of the US, or an alien performing active service in the armed forces.
This bill only applies to children born after the date of enactment.
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Latest: Trump calls for help to reopen Strait of Hormuz
Dubai (AP): US President Donald Trump said he has demanded that about seven countries send warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz open as Iranian strikes continued to rain down on Gulf countries on Monday.
Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest, gradually restarted operations after a drone struck a fuel tank and started a fire. Authorities said it was quickly contained, and no injuries were reported.
Tehran has accused the United States, without evidence, of using “ports, docks and hideouts” in the United Arab Emirates to launch strikes on Kharg Island, home to the main terminal handling Iran's oil exports, as oil prices soared. Brent crude oil was trading near USD 105 per barrel on Monday.
Trump said the US is negotiating with countries heavily reliant on Middle East crude to join a coalition to police the waterway where about one-fifth of the world's traded oil normally flows, but declined to name them.
Israeli strikes have deepened Lebanon's humanitarian crisis, with more than 850 people killed and over 850,000 displaced.
Here is the latest:
Bahrain reports missile and drone attacks
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Bahrain's Defence Ministry says air defence systems have responded to attacks on Monday morning.
The ministry says four missiles and three drones were fired.
Israel sends troops into Lebanon for a limited operation
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The Israeli military says it sent additional ground troops into Lebanon for what it calls a “limited and targeted operation.”
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani says the latest deployment is meant to defend Israeli border communities against attacks from the Hezbollah militant group.
Shoshani says Hezbollah has sent hundreds of fighters from its elite Radwan unit toward the border since the militant group entered the war two weeks ago.
He says Israel carried out artillery and airstrikes on multiple sites before sending in the troops.
Earlier in the war, Israel beefed up the presence of ground troops inside Lebanon in what it says is an attempt to prevent attacks on its northern border towns.
Israeli strikes on South Lebanon kill 3, including 2 paramedics
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Lebanon's state-run National News Agency says one person was killed by an Israeli airstrike early Monday on a home in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Sir.
The agency says another strike occurred after paramedics from the Islamic Health Society, Hezbollah's health arm, arrived at the scene.
The agency says the second strike killed two paramedics and wounded another person.
Israeli military says 70 per cent of Iranian launchers destroyed
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The Israeli military says it has destroyed an estimated 70 per cent of Iran's missile launchers during the first two weeks of the war.
Military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told reporters Monday that while Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel, the number of launches has been greatly reduced.
He says Israel has carried out some 7,600 strikes in Iran, knocking out 85 per cent of Iran's air defences and targeting a number of Iranian nuclear sites.
Shoshani says the war will go on “for as long as needed” and says Israel still has thousands of targets it is prepared to strike.
China has no comment on Trump's Strait of Hormuz request
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A Chinese government spokesperson did not respond directly to questions about Trump's request for military support from several countries to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The Foreign Ministry's Lin Jian, at a daily briefing in Beijing, instead repeated China's calls for an end to the fighting, noting the impact on energy and goods trade.
Trump said in an interview with The Financial Times that the US would like an answer from China before his planned trip to Beijing in about two weeks, and that “we may delay.”
Lin said China and the US have maintained communication on Trump's visit.
“Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–US relations,” he said.
Drone strike starts fire at UAE oil facility
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A fire broke out Monday following a drone attack on an industrial oil facility in Fujairah, one of the United Arab Emirates' seven emirates, authorities said.
The Media Office in Fujairah said a drone targeted the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, causing an “advanced” fire.
No casualties were reported.
UAE says Palestinian killed in Abu Dhabi missile attack
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A Palestinian civilian was killed in a missile attack early Monday in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said.
The Abu Dhabi Media Office said a missile fell on a civilian vehicle in the Al Bahyah area.
The death raised the toll to seven people in the UAE since the beginning of the war on Feb. 18, authorities said.
EU weighs naval missions to reopen the Strait
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The European Union is weighing two types of naval missions to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, and that's why we are also discussing what we can do in this regard from the European side,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief.
She made the announcement ahead of a gathering of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Rising prices for energy and fertilisers have brought the war in Iran to the top of their agenda, she said.
Kallas said the EU could expand its Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf or form a “coalition of the willing” with member nations contributing military capacity on an ad hoc basis.
