At a news conference on Monday in a Texas border town, Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reportedly suggested removing “birthright citizenship” for children of illegal immigrants.
DeSantis demanded that the long-standing immigration policy, which grants automatic citizenship to all children born within U.S. borders, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status, be changed to include children born to illegal immigrants.
In the historic 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, in which the defendant, who was born to Chinese immigrants living in the United States, attempted to see his parents but was turned away because he was not a citizen, the Supreme Court made a ruling on the subject of birthright citizenship.
The defendant was found to be a U.S. citizen by the court in a 6-2 decision, proving that even non-citizens who have children born in the country are legally deemed citizens.
In light of the current border crisis caused by the Biden Administration, DeSantis recently unveiled a “No Excuses” memo to crack down on illegal immigration.
The candidate also recently called for the end of what he calls a “failed policy”
Former President Donald Trump had vowed to limit the practice in 2018 but never followed through with an executive order to put it into effect.
He said in late May that he would also seek to abolish automatic citizenship.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Unveils New Initiative to Crack Down on Illegals]
