Trump Anti-Immigrant Stuff: Birth Citizenship Confusion With Lots of Tap Dancing

He’s in Charge of Immigration Policy (ouch)

Very big and very confusing immigration and birth rights news today:

From The AP: Trump unveiled new rules making make it harder for children of some immigrants serving in the military to obtain citizenship. 

From CBS news: Children of certain U.S. government employees and service members born abroad will no longer be automatically considered U.S. citizens. Although the agency had a long list of categories that would be exempt from the guidance.

From CNN here – same subject.

Historically, children born to U.S. citizen parents in foreign countries have been automatically granted citizenship under Immigration Nationality Act 320. This new policy, which would be enacted on October 29, would apply to some children born in facilities such as U.S. military hospitals that are not in the U.S., and to some born to government employees and members of the military serving abroad.

The parents of these children would have to apply for U.S. citizenship ahead of the child's 18th birthday.

Clearly this part should be ruled unconstitutional:

A fact sheet from Immigration on their website suggests that the new policy will be limited in scope. The guidance appears to be aimed at children of parents who have not lived in the U.S. for many years or who are not U.S. citizens.

USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli released updated guidance (August 28^th) that mostly affects non-citizen service members. 

(FYI: They can serve as non-citizens in enlisted ranks but must be citizens to be commissioned officers some 35,000 now serve – but all are Green Card permanent residents who don’t quality to become citizens yet but still serve for at least one year and then can become a citizen).

All this not only causing confusion but is confusing and more ultra-right wing ugly anti-immigrant policy from Trump and team, and this few is shared among immigration lawyers and advocates after the document appeared to show children of American citizens would also be affected.

The policy update is highly technical and contradicts parts of an 11-page memo the agency initially put out that implied American citizens were among those whose children would no longer be automatically granted citizenship if born abroad.

The policy change “…explains that we will not consider children who live abroad with their parents to be residing in the United States even if their parents are U.S. government employees or U.S. service members stationed outside of the United States. As a result, these children will no longer be considered to have acquired citizenship automatically.”

It appears to target children of service members who are legal permanent residents and not U.S. citizens and it t also will affect citizens if they can't prove they lived in the U.S. for a certain amount of time. People in those scenarios would have to undergo a more cumbersome process for obtaining American citizenship for their kids.

* BTW: Recall who is Ken Cuccinelli is why Trump “only hires the very best” right? He is the former AG of Virginia and a staunch conservative with a significant track record of racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

For example: In 2015, as the Virginia AG he appeared on an ultra-conservative radio talk show and claimed that former President Barack Obama was encouraging an “immigrant invasion,” saying in part:

“We’re being invaded, right? One person at a time, we’re being invaded. And the president isn’t protecting us from invasion, he’s (Obama) is encouraging the invasion, and he’s doing it unconstitutionally.”

Trump frequently has referred to the caravan of migrants and asylum seekers from Central America as an “invasion” and used the term in justifying his national declaration emergency last February.

Cuccinelli like Trump opposes birthright citizenship, which grants U.S. citizenship to children born in the country in the 14^th Amendment.

Interesting, too, is that while he was preparing an unsuccessful run for VA governor in 2013, Cuccinelli wiped his anti-immigrant record from his campaign website.

However, a cached version of the site boasted how he:

(1) voted consistently against in-state tuition for illegal aliens,

(2) ramped up deportations,  

(3) defended Arizona’s SB 1070, which included the controversial “show me your papers” provision.

My 2 cents: Both Trump and now Cuccinelli (who can run but can’t hide from his own racist record) are two horrible people more now with his new anti-military children birth rights provision … very disgusting and downright nasty and very ugly policy. 

So, how did Trump become so anti-immigrant especially when two of this three wives who were immigrants and also his own original family? A sad, pitiful man, really.

I hope the high-court rips him a new one over this policy. They should. Clearly Trump is making law outside the constitutional bounds.

Finally, this really sick view from Trump: He said he believes a merit-based system of immigration is better for the U.S. than a family-based one, as it is now. He has been working to make changes to how the system works, and follows other more sweeping changes to immigration laws. 

“Chain Migration Parents” with Friends in High Places

So “the chain migration of Melania Trump’s parents from Slovenia who both recently became citizens after being sponsored by Melania have what skills” remind me again?  Oh, I see, none, but tons of money and high-level connections but no jobs and no degrees, etc. – okay, never mind. 

And Melania had what skills? Remind of that again,too. Oh, yeah, professional model who posed a lot nude and also no degree that she once claimed. Oops…!!!

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by.