Los Angeles Times

Commentary: Birthright citizenship isn't just the law, it's crucial to assimilation in the US

In an Axios interview, President Trump said he planned to issue an executive order to repeal birthright citizenship, a law he described as "ridiculous."

The legal argument against such a move is overwhelming: It would reverse about 1,000 years of Anglo-American common law and violate the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even worse, experience here and in Europe shows that ending birthright citizenship would limit how well immigrants and their descendants assimilate and become Americans.

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