Politics

Paul Ryan: ‘You Cannot End Birthright Citizenship With An Executive Order’

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Evie Fordham Politics and Health Care Reporter
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Outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan took a definitive stance Tuesday against President Donald Trump’s desire to restrict birthright citizenship via executive order.

“Well, you obviously cannot do that. You cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order,” Ryan told Kentucky radio station WVLK. “We didn’t like it when [former President Barack] Obama tried changing immigration laws via executive action, and obviously as conservatives, we believe in the Constitution.”

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Ryan’s statement comes after Trump’s comments to Axios that he plans to issue a future executive order to end birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants and some other non-citizens were made public early Tuesday morning.

“It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don’t,” Trump told Axios(RELATED: Birthright Citizenship: What You Need To Know)

“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 … with all of those benefits,” Trump continued.

The question of how and if the Constitution safeguards birthright citizenship goes back to the 14th Amendment. Its citizenship clause states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

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