In a major overhaul of immigration policy, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to cancel birthright citizenship and deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. The move, which would effectively end the automatic citizenship granted to children born to non-citizen parents in the United States, has sparked controversy and debate among lawmakers and immigration experts.
According to reports, Trump plans to sign an executive order to repeal the long-standing policy of granting automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to non-citizen parents. The move is seen as a bid to correct what Trump and his supporters argue is a misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
Critics of the move, however, argue that it is unconstitutional and would only serve to further fragment and marginalize immigrant communities.
The debate over birthright citizenship has been ongoing for decades, with some countries such as Mexico, Brazil, and Peru granting citizenship to children born to non-citizen parents in certain circumstances.
Other countries that grant some form of citizenship to foreign-born individuals, but not necessarily automatically, include Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Ghana.
The impact of Trump's plan would likely be significant, and would put him at odds with human rights groups and immigration advocates who argue that the right to citizenship is a fundamental human right.
The decision would also have far-reaching implications for the U.S. economy, as millions of dollars would be spent on enforcing the new policy and deporting undocumented immigrants.
The issue of birthright citizenship has become increasingly contentious in recent years, with some arguing that it is a privilege that should be reserved for those who are born to U.S. citizens or who have been admitted to the country through the proper channels.