VOA慢速英语--特朗普有意通过行政命令取消“出生公民权

Trump¹ Considers Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship²

President Donald Trump says he wants to end to the constitutional right of citizenship for babies born in the United States to non-U.S. citizens.

Trump made the comments on the television program “Axios on HBO.” They come a week before general elections, also called mid-term elections. The name comes from the fact that they come half way through the president's four-year term in office.

The Associated Press (AP) reports that the president wants to energize³ his supporters and help the Republican Party keep control of Congress.

Trump has expressed concern about a large group of Central American migrants walking across Mexico toward the U.S. border.

On Monday, the Trump administration announced it is sending thousands of troops to the border area. The president has said he will build tent cities for those seeking asylum⁴.

Does president have the power?

For years, Trump and many U.S. conservatives have called for an end to birthright citizenship. One idea is for the president to sign an executive order to suspend that constitutional right. But it is not clear if a president has the power to declare that children born in the United States to those living here illegally are not citizens.

The 14th Amendment⁵ to the Constitution guarantees that right for all children born in the United States.

When asked if he had the power to make such a change, Trump said, “they’re saying I can do it just with an executive order.” He added that “we’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is…a citizen of the United States.”

A 2010 study from the Center for Immigration Studies showed that 30 countries offered birthright citizenship.

Some of Trump’s recent comments were published Tuesday on Axios’s website. The president said that government lawyers are studying his proposal. It is unclear how quickly he would act on the executive order.

A person close to the Trump White House said the issue of birthright citizenship had been raised many times during the past year. However, some White House officials reportedly expressed opposition⁶ to any change.

White House lawyers will work with the Justice Department to develop a legal justification⁷ for the action, the person said. The person added that it is one of many immigration policy changes being discussed.

Some legal experts say no

Legal experts questioned whether Trump has the power to make such changes with an executive order.

Omar Jadwat is the director of the Immigrants’ Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. He noted⁸ that the U.S. Constitution is very clear.

“If you are born in the United States, you’re a citizen,” he said. He added that it was “outrageous⁹ that the president can think he can override¹⁰ constitutional guarantees by issuing an executive order.”

Jadwat said the president is required to defend the Constitution. He added that Trump can try to get Congress to pass a constitutional amendment, but he said, "I don’t think they are anywhere close to getting that.” Any decision by Congress would end up in court, Jadwat said.

Suzanna Sherry is a professor of law at Vanderbilt Law School in Tennessee. She told the Associated Press that people who are telling Trump he can change the Constitution with an executive order are mistaken. “He can’t do it by himself,” she said, adding that he cannot do it even if Congress agrees.

Sherry said, “I think it would take a Constitutional amendment.”

Under the Constitution, an amendment may be proposed by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Or two-third of state legislatures must call for a special meeting, or constitutional convention.

Others disagree

But other experts say the U.S. president may have the power to end birthright citizenship.

Jon Feere is an adviser¹¹ at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He has argued that that the president could limit citizenship through an executive order.

Feere wrote that a president could direct the government to follow his interpretation¹² of the Supreme¹³ Court’s past rulings. The court has only ruled on the children of legal immigrants. It has not ruled on the children of those asking for asylum or those who are in the country illegally.

Feere also wrote that a president could tell the government to give Social Security numbers and passports only to children who have at least one parent who is a citizen or parents who are in the United States legally. His argument was published in The Hill in 2015.

The first line of the 14th Amendment states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States…are citizens of the United States…”

Congress passed the 14th Amendment in 1866 after the Civil War. It was agreed to by three-fourths of the states in 1868. At the time, the amendment was seen as a way to guarantee citizenship to freed slaves and their children.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

tent – n.a cloth house for temporary living

birthright – n.the rights given to a person at birth

executive – adj.something from the Presidential arm of the government

outrageous – adj.very bad or wrong in a way that causes anger, too bad to be accepted or allowed

interpretation – n.the way something is explained or understood

convention - n. a large meeting of people

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

3 energize   

vt.给予(某人或某物)精力、能量

参考例句：

• It is used to energize the city.它的作用是为城市供给能量。
• This is a great way to energize yourself and give yourself more power!这种方法非常棒，可以激活你的能量，让你有更多的活力！

4 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

5 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

10 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

11 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

12 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

13 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。