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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
