Trump Sign Executive Order To End Birthright Citizenship

• Trump says tariffs will be imposed on Mexico and Canada on February 1

 

Tony Nwakaegho With Agency Report

United States President, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship — a right guaranteed by the US Constitution and affirmed by the Supreme Court more than 125 years ago.

On Monday, Trump issued a blitz of executive actions to start reshaping federal immigration and border policy, many of which are expected to face significant legal challenges.

“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is what I’m going to do,” Trump said in his inaugural address.

CBS News reports that the US government has long interpreted the US Constitution to mean that those born on American soil are citizens at birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution says, “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

But Trump directed federal agencies to stop issuing passports, citizenship certificates, and other documents to children born in the US to mothers who are in the country illegally and fathers who are not citizens or legal permanent residents, or to mothers who are temporary visa holders (and fathers who are not citizens or legal permanent residents).

Trump said his edict, which would not apply retroactively, should be enforced in 30 days. But just hours after it was issued, the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups filed a lawsuit challenging the action in federal court.

He also cited extraordinary presidential powers to effectively suspend US asylum law, accusing migrants of staging an “invasion” at the southern border and endangering public health.

He authorised officials to “repel, repatriate, or remove” migrants, suspending their “physical entry” into the US through his constitutional powers. The far-reaching order essentially allows the U.S. government to stop adhering to American asylum law until Mr. Trump issues a “finding that the invasion at the southern border has ceased.”

In a related development, Donald Trump says tariffs will be imposed on Mexico and Canada on February 1

Trump said tariffs of 25 per cent on products from Canada and Mexico could be introduced as early as February, hours after taking office as US president on Monday.

Speaking at the White House while signing various orders shortly after his inauguration, Trump said, “We’re thinking in terms of 25 per cent on Mexico and Canada, because they’re allowing vast number of people … to come in.”

“I think we’ll do it Feb. 1,” Trump added, referring to the potential start date for the tariffs.

Earlier on Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump did not intend to impose tariffs on trading partners like Canada, Mexico, and China.

Instead, he planned to instruct the authorities to assess trade relations with China and its neighbours on the North American continent, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a summary of a planned memorandum and Trump’s advisers.

Shortly after winning the election in November, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.

There are also fears in the EU that Trump could impose new tariffs.

Tariffs are a type of surcharge on imported goods. They are paid as goods enter the country.

Trump imposed a range of tariffs on imported goods during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021.