Trump suggested Thursday evening that foreign dictators could take advantage of birthright citizenship to make their children U.S. citizens.
“Many come from China, you might be surprised. China now is number one, we’re not just talking South America, Latin America, we’re talking about China, parts of Asia, it’s crazy. Think of it, you’re an enemy of our country, you’re a general with war on your mind, you’re a dictator who we hate and who’s against us, and that dictator has his wife have a baby on American soil. Congratulations, your son or daughter is now an American citizen. Does anybody think this makes sense?” he said at a campaign rally in Columbia, Missouri.
Trump went on to suggest that birthright citizenship produces a “birth tourism” industry that could lead to a wave of immigrants arriving to the U.S.
“This policy has even created an entire industry, it’s called ‘birth tourism,’ where pregnant mothers travel from all over the world to America to make their children instant lifelong citizens with guaranteed everything, everything, everything that you have is guaranteed: welfare, public benefits, right? Birthright citizens in turn can then bring their entire extended family into the country through chain migration,” he said.
A foreign leader has never had a child become a U.S. citizen through such a method, and were a foreign dignitary to have a child on U.S. soil, that child would not be granted U.S. citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.