US President-elect Donald Trump pledged to end birthright citizenship in the United States and even to pardon people who were convicted over 2021 Capitol Hill riots in Washington DC. Trump was speaking during NBC’s Meet The Press with Kristen Walker in what was his first broadcast network interview since he was elected US president who is set to succeed current US President Joe Biden.
Currently, 14th Amendment of US Constitution guarantees anyone born in the US a citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
“We’re going to have to get it changed,” said Trump
“We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it,” he said further.
However, he appeared to make an inaccurate claim by saying that US was the only country where such a citizenship was possible.
A report in New York Times said that 34 other countries offered such citizenship.
Notably, Trump appeared to soften his stance a bit when he said he was willing to work with Democratic Party lawmakers to protect ‘Dreamers’, a word often used for immigrants who were brought into the US when they were children.
“We have to do something about the Dreamers because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age,” he said. “And many of these are middle-aged people now. They don’t even speak the language of their country. And yes, we’re going to do something about the Dreamers.”
Pardon For Capitol Hill Rioters
During the interview, Trump also said that he would pardon his supporters who were convicted for their role in January 6, 2021 riots on the Capitol Hill. He said he was going to act ‘very quickly’.
When he was asked if he would pardon everyone, he hinted that there can be exceptions.
“There may be some exceptions, those who were radical, crazy.” Defending those who assaulted law enforcement officers during the riots,” Trump said, “Because they had no choice,”
He further claimed that rioters who were in jail were kept in “a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”
