Trump just wants to copy NZ citizenship law

Politico reports:

Donald Trump’s team is crafting an executive order to end birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants, a monumental move the president-elect’s allies say is a key step in their long-term strategy: getting the issue before the Supreme Court.

The effect of Trump’s order would be to exclude the children of undocumented immigrants and short-term visitors to the U.S. from the right to citizenship by birth that is established under the 14th Amendment. And while there are few details on what exactly he would do and how sweeping the action would be, immigration restrictionists say Trump could do several things, including directing the State Department to refuse to issue passports to children without proof of the parents’ immigration status or the Social Security Administration to withhold Social Security numbers.

It is very rare in fact for countries to automatically give citizenship to people born in the country, whose parents are not legal residents. Take the NZ Citizenship Act:

the person was born in New Zealand on or after 1 January 2006, and, at the time of the person’s birth, at least one of the person’s parents was a New Zealand citizen; or entitled in terms of the Immigration Act 2009 to be in New Zealand indefinitely, or entitled to reside indefinitely in the Cook Islands, Niue, or Tokelau.

So the substance of what Trump wants to achieve is basically to copy our law. However as their citizenship clause is in the US constitution, it may not be something that can be achieved by executive order. The 14th amendment says:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.

The part in bold can be read as meaning it only applies to legal residents. The best way forward would be for the US Congress to pass a law stating that citizenship only applies children of citizens and permanent residents. This is likely to be given more deference by the courts than an executive order.

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