US President Donald Trump plans to end birthright citizenship
Washington, Oct 30 (AP): President Donald Trump is intensifying his hardline immigration rhetoric heading into the midterm elections, declaring that he wants to order the end of the constitutional right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorised immigrants born in the United States.
Trump made the comments to "Axios on HBO" ahead of elections that he has sought to focus on his hardline immigration policies. Trump, seeking to energise his supporters and help Republicans keep control of Congress, has stoked anxiety about a caravan of Central American migrants making its way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
He is dispatching additional troops and saying he'll set up tent cities for asylum seekers.
Revoking birthright citizenship would spark a court fight over whether the president has the unilateral ability to change an amendment to the Constitution.
The 14th Amendment guarantees that right for all children born in the US.
Asked about the legality of such an executive order, Trump said, "they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."
He added that "we're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States." An excerpt of the interview was posted on Axios' website on Tuesday.
The president said White House lawyers are reviewing his proposal. It's unclear how quickly he would act on an executive order. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
Some experts questioned whether Trump could follow through.
Omar Jadwat, director of the Immigrants' Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York, said Tuesday said the Constitution is very clear.
"If you are born in the United States, you're a citizen," he said, adding that it was "outrageous that the president can think he can override constitutional guarantees by issuing an executive order, Jadwat said the president has an obligation to uphold the Constitution.
Trump can try to get Congress to pass a constitutional amendment, "but I don't think they are anywhere close to getting that." "Obviously, even if he did, it would be subject to court challenge," he added.
In the final days before the Nov. 6 midterms, Trump has emphasized immigration, as he seeks to counter Democratic enthusiasm. Trump believes that his campaign pledges, including his much-vaunted and still-unfulfilled promise to quickly build a US-Mexico border wall, are still rallying cries for his base and that this latest focus will further erode the enthusiasm gap.
Trump voiced his theory that birthright citizenship could be stripped during his campaign, when he described it as a "magnet for illegal immigration." During a 2015 campaign stop in Florida, he said: "The birthright citizenship - the anchor baby - birthright citizenship, it's over, not going to happen."
The first line of the 14th Amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." The 14th Amendment was passed by Congress in 1866 during the period of Reconstruction after the Civil War.
It was ratified in 1868 by three-fourths of the states. By extending citizenship to those born in the US, the amendment nullified an 1857 Supreme Court decision (Dred Scott v Sandford), which ruled that those descended from slaves could not be citizens.
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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.
