Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (Sc.) is predicting that the Supreme Court will uphold President Trump's order on birthright citizenship.
“I think there’s a good chance,” Graham told Meet The Press. “I introduced legislation to end birthright citizenship years ago."
Trump sparked an immediate legal challenge with the sweeping action, which would end the long-standing practice of automatically granting citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
It's widely anticipated that the legal battle will go all the way to the Supreme Court. Although Trump has a conservative majority, he has faced pushback in the past, and he is not guaranteed a favorable ruling on this contentious issue.
Case in point, a federal judge appointed by President Reagan temporarily blocked Trump's order, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional."
While birthright citizenship is commonly presented as an unquestionable legal right, critics argue the phrase "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" excludes those with foreign allegiances such as illegal aliens.
Regardless of the legal arguments, birthright citizenship has undeniably played a role in attracting millions of illegal aliens to the United States.
"So, it's a magnet for illegal immigration," Graham said.
"I think when it comes to illegal immigration, if you want to turn off the spigot, change this policy. I think it's a cheap way to award citizenship. You should not be a citizen simply because you were born here. You have to have some connection to the jurisdiction of the United States," Graham added.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, at least 250,000 people were born to unlawful aliens in 2023, Graham noted.
"That's 7% of all the babies born in the country," he said.
Senator Graham noted that birthright citizenship is relatively uncommon among the world's leading nations.
"Canada, Mexico, and the United States are, like, three of the 20 economic powers in the country. There are three of us that do this. Maybe Brazil," he said.
Advocates of birthright citizenship often invoke its long history in the U.S. and the idea that America is a "nation of immigrants." But America is not obliged to keep the "dumbest immigration policy in the world" out of habit, Vice President J.D. Vance told CBS on Sunday.
"America should actually look out for the interests of our citizens first," Vance said on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. "If you're here permanently and lawfully, your kid becomes an American citizen."
