In a recent town hall event in Iowa, broadcasted by NBC, Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohio-based tech entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate, made a bold statement about his immigration policy.
Ramaswamy, who is currently polling second to former President Donald Trump, stated that under his administration, children of undocumented immigrants would face deportation.
Ramaswamy's comments came in response to a question about his stance on 'anchor babies,' a term used to refer to children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents. His response sparked a discussion about the Fourteenth Amendment, which grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States."
"The family unit will be deported as a family unit. We will never separate families," Ramaswamy declared, addressing the issue of child deportation. He further elaborated on his immigration policy, stating, "But we will de-bureaucratize the process for which law-abiding citizens and their families have a path to legal immigration into the country if they meet the criteria."
Ramaswamy also touched on the contentious issue of birthright citizenship, stating that the Fourteenth Amendment leaves room for legal interpretation regarding the citizenship status of children born to illegal immigrants. "There are legally contested questions under the 14th Amendment of whether the child of an illegal immigrant is indeed a child who enjoys birthright citizenship," he said. "They are contested."
He further explained that under the legal theory that children of illegal immigrants do not enjoy birthright citizenship, it would be "perfectly legally permissible to remove the entire family unit."
Ramaswamy is not alone in his interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Former President Donald Trump has also pledged to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants if re-elected. Similarly, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's campaign suggested in June that birthright citizenship is not always guaranteed for children of undocumented immigrants, terming it "inconsistent with the original understanding of the 14th Amendment," as reported by NBC News.
The issue of illegal immigration has been a significant concern for GOP presidential campaigns, particularly in light of the Biden administration's border crisis. In 2022 alone, over 2 million illegal immigrant encounters were reported at the US/Mexico border.
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