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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Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link now fully operational
Mumbai (PTI): The Mumbai-bound carriageway of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway connecting link was opened to vehicular traffic on Saturday noon after a delay caused by the dismantling of inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work, a day after the Pune section became operational.
The 13.3 km-long "missing link", which bypasses a section of the Bhor Ghat stretch of the expressway and cuts travel time between Mumbai and Pune by 25 to 30 minutes, was inaugurated a day earlier by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in the presence of Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar.
The Pune-bound carriageway of the corridor was opened to traffic immediately; however, the Mumbai-bound section remained closed to traffic for several hours after the inauguration.
An official of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation told PTI on Saturday that the opening of the Mumbai-bound carriageway was delayed mainly due to the dismantling of the inauguration infrastructure and cleaning work.
The removal of the stage and other decorations was completed in the morning. The work to load and transport the material slightly delayed the opening of the carriageway.
Vehicular movement on the carriageway began after all the remaining material was cleared and road cleaning was completed, the official added.
The expressway control room said that despite significant vehicular movement, the access-controlled highway has not witnessed any major traffic snarls since Friday evening, after the Pune-bound carriageway of the missing link was opened to traffic.
The Missing Link project connects Khopoli (in Raigad) on the Mumbai side to Kusgaon near Lonavala in Pune district and is expected to make the expressway fully access-controlled, easing congestion in the ghat section.
Developed by the MSRDC and dubbed an "engineering marvel", the project includes two tunnels, two viaducts and a cable-stayed bridge over Tiger Valley. It bypasses the steep, accident-prone ghat section, where frequent traffic snarls are reported during weekends and on public holidays.
