Ryan: Executive order cannot end birthright citizenship

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks with reporters during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan speaks with reporters during his weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2018.

UNDATED (Wisconsin Radio Network) - President Donald Trump’s son Eric thinks most Americans will support his father’s efforts to end the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. “It’s trying when somebody can come over, have a child not too long after, and all of a sudden they can become immediate citizens. It’s a tough issue.”

The younger Trump made the comments during an event with Wisconsin Republicans in Sheyboygan on Tuesday.

The president said he believes he can rescind birthright citizenship through executive order. Most observers disagree, including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Ryan told a Kentucky radio station on Tuesday that the president can’t act unilaterally. “As a conservative, I’m a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution, and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear.”

Governor Scott Walker, asked about the president’s plans on a Milwaukee radio station, and said simply that it’s a federal issue, one that he has no authority over.

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