- D. Trump may abolish naturalized citizenship
- The President-elect talks about future migration policy
- Curbing illegal migration is a key focus of Trump's policy
D. Trump may abolish naturalized citizenship
US President-elect Donald Trump says he plans to abolish the right to acquire natural-born US citizenship when he formally takes office, stressing that this right is uniquely American. More than 30 countries, including the US neighbor Canada, grant such citizenship at birth.
The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted in 1868, states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States".
D. Trump also states that he would like to address the situation of so-called 'dreamers', children who came to the US with their families very young and have since grown up in the United States.
"We have to do something about the dreamers because these people were brought here very young, and many of them are now middle-aged; they don't even speak the language of their country. They have great jobs. In some cases, they have small businesses. In some cases, they may have big companies, and we must do something with them," says Trump[1].
On this situation, the US President-elect stressed that he will work together with the Democrats to solve the problem.
The President-elect talks about future migration policy
D. Trump also revealed more of his plans on migration issues during an interview with a US TV show. For example, he said that he "has no choice but to deport everyone who is in the US illegally".
He said that his migration policy programme would start with criminal, undocumented immigrants and then move on to "people who are not criminals".
"It's a complicated thing, but you have to have rules, regulations, laws. They came illegally. You know, treating people who have been queuing for 10 years to come into the country is very unfair. We have to get the criminals out of our country. But we are only starting with the criminals and we need to do that. Then we will start with the others and see how it goes," he said.
D. Trump also highlighted scenarios in which US citizens could be deported along with family members who are in the country illegally:
"I don't want to break up families. So, the only way not to break up families is to keep them together and send them all back. We certainly don't have to separate families. We will send the whole family back to the country they came from in a very humane way. But it depends on the family. If they came here illegally but their family is here legally, the family has a choice. The person who came illegally can leave, or they can all leave together."
Tighter restrictions on the US border with Mexico were a key goal of Trump's candidacy, just as they were during his first campaign phase in 2016. Now, his fellow Republicans also hope that Trump will immediately address the migration issue once he officially takes office[2].
Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio says that Trump will tackle the problem of illegal migration in his first 40-60 days in office.
"We have to solve the migration problem. This election was about two issues: open borders and high prices. All elections have been like that, and we have to fix the migration system. It is the intellectually easiest thing to fix. The hardest thing is to fix it emotionally, and I hope I can play a part in making that happen", says Colombian-born B. Moreno, who is from Colombia.
Curbing illegal migration is a key focus of Trump's policy
As US President from 2017 to 2021, Trump has demonstrated a rather tough migration policy, significantly impacting both the US and the international community. His administration has aimed to reduce both legal and illegal migration to the United States, and one of the most significant aspects of this policy has been the US-Mexico border construction project.
The construction of this wall was aimed at preventing illegal migrants and drug smuggling. Although the Trump administration never built a completely new wall, more than 700 km of existing barricades were reconstructed and reinforced.
His administration had already launched a policy in 2018 to punish anyone entering the country illegally. This has, in some cases, led to the separation of families, as adults have been detained and their children placed in separate centers. The policy caused a major outcry and was suspended in 2018.
D. Trump has also signed an executive order banning citizens from certain predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US. This was presented as a national security measure. At the same time, H-1B work visas were restricted, thus reducing the entry of skilled professionals into the country, and questions were also raised about the usefulness and security of the green card lottery.
The President's supporters argued that these measures on migration management were necessary for the security of the US borders and the protection of the economy, while opponents considered the policy inhumane, discriminatory, and unethical, particularly because of the separation of families and the strict asylum rules.
