Connect with us

News

‘You Have to’: Trump Confirms Plan to Deport US Citizens With Undocumented Parents

Published

on

President-elect Donald Trump confirmed his commitment to ending constitutionally protected birthright citizenship, and initiating the mass deportation of American citizens — including minor children — with at least one undocumented parent, a pledge he emphasized throughout the 2024 campaign.

“I’m talking about parents who might be here illegally, but the kids are here legally,” NBC News’ Kristen Welker told Trump in a “Meet the Press” interview that aired Sunday. NBC News described Trump’s plan as a “mass deportation effort.”

“Your border czar Tom Homan said they can be deported together. Is that the plan?”

“I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back,” Trump said.

“Even kids who are here legally?” Welker asked, suggesting there are around four million families who Trump is saying he would deport.

READ MORE: Butker’s ‘Traditional Values’ PAC Took Retiree Cash, Spent Most on Fundraising: Report

“Look, we have to have rules and regulations,” Trump claimed. “You can always find something out like, you know, this doesn’t work, that doesn’t work. I’ll tell you what’s gonna be horrible, when we take a wonderful young woman who’s with a criminal, and they show the woman and she could stay by the law, but they show the woman being taken out, or they want her out and your cameras are focused on her as she’s crying as she’s being taken out of our country, and then the public turns against us. But we have to do our job. And you have to have a series of standards and a series of laws. And in the end, look, our country is a mess.”

HuffPost adds that later in the interview, Trump promised to deport U.S. citizens to countries where they may have never even visited, “humanely.”

“We’ll send the whole family, very humanely, back to the country where they came. That way the family’s not separated,” he said. “The family may decide to say, ‘I’d rather have Dad go, and we’ll stay here.’ And in which case they have that option.”

Welker also said to Trump, “You promised to end birthright citizenship on day one.”

“Correct,” the President-elect replied.

“Is that still your plan?” she asked.

“Yeah. Absolutely,” Trump vowed.

HuffPost also reports that “in the interview, Trump vowed to use an executive action to end birthright citizenship, something that is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.”

“When asked if that’s even possible, he said, ‘Well, we’re going to have to get it changed. We’ll maybe have to go back to the people. But we have to end it.’ He incorrectly said that America is the only country to have birthright citizenship — about three dozen countries, including Canada and Mexico, provide birthright citizenship.”

Birthright citizenship means children born in this country are automatically U.S. citizens, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. The 14th Amendment guarantees this right.

Back in September, just days after his lie that migrants from Haiti are “eating the dogs” and “eating the cats” of the residents of Springfield, Ohio, Trump, apparently for the first time, invoked language used by the far-right in Europe to vow he will also forcibly deport millions of legal immigrants from those swing states and the rest of the country if elected President in November.

Trump called for “remigration,” the forceful deportation of immigrants, including those in the U.S. under lawful and unlawful circumstances. He vowed to “end the migrant invasion of America,” and falsely characterized some programs that allow legal entry to the U.S. under law.

Legal experts have said Trump’s plan to deport U.S. citizens is unconstitutional and violates the 14th Amendment, but the ultimate arbiter will likely be the Roberts Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 right-wing majority, including three justices who Trump appointed during his first term. That same court handed Trump sweeping immunity, saying any action a president takes during the course of their duties cannot be prosecuted.

On Friday, before the interview aired, California Attorney General Rob Bonta on his official social media account on X wrote: “Donald Trump likes to do what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants, regardless of the constitution or the rule of law. We’re preparing to hold him accountable for lawbreaking.”

Overnight, on his personal X account, Bonta added:

“Trump admits he plans to deport…wait for it…US citizens

Um, that’s not a thing

& it’s unlawful

While Trump wants to do what he wants, when & how he wants, the presidency is limited in its authority by the Constitution & rule of law

If Trump breaks the law, we’ll stop him.”

READ MORE: How Hegseth and Allies Are Waging War Against the US Military to Secure His Confirmation

Earlier last week Bonta sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper to lay out his plan to fight Trump if he engages in unconstitutional acts.

Other critics also blasted the President-elect.

“The forced deportation of roughly five million U.S. citizen children with undocumented parents would rank among the worst atrocities this country has ever carried out in its history,” observed attorney and immigration expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.

“Trump talking casually about violating the Constitution and deporting legal US citizens… this should be on the front page of every newspaper in the country,” wrote California Democratic state Senator Sasha Renée Pérez.

Immigration attorney Allen Orr, Jr. warned, “No, a President / #Trump cannot deport U.S. citizens. Under the 14th Amendment, U.S. citizenship cannot be revoked arbitrarily. See: Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967).”

Ahmed Baba, a columnist at The Independent and co-founder of Rantt Media responded, writing: “1) We warned Trump would try to target legal immigrants and US citizens. 2) This move is incredibly illegal, just like his call to end birthright citizenship. 3) We’re about to find out how far-right the Supreme Court has truly become when these moves are tested in court.”

“Trump is promising a lot of illegal and unconstitutional moves,” he also wrote. “Many of them will be immediately slowed by the courts. He’s not all powerful. How much SCOTUS lets this lame duck POTUS violate the constitution will be the key metric of how bad things get.”

Professor of Law and immigration attorney Charles Kuck warned undocumented parents with children who are U.S. citizens, “Trump will order DOS [Dept. of State] to not issue passports. Folks who have little kids should be getting the passports now.”

“Trump will be issuing an executive order on January 20, 2025, ordering the Department of State to stop issuing US Passports to children born in the US to undocumented parents, and possibly even to parents on nonimmigrant visas, it is essential that those children be applying for US Passports immediately, using the expedite option from Department of State,” he added. “It is also highly likely that he will order USCIS to refuse to accept Form I-130 petitions from US citizen children for undocumented parents. So, file the Petitions now! I have no doubt that the courts will strike this down as unconstitutional, but it will not be a fast fight.”

Immigration attorney Curtis Morrison late Sunday night concurred: “If you’re the undocumented parent of US citizen kids but those kids don’t have US passports, take care of that tomorrow.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Melania Grift’: Incoming First Lady Hawks Her Christmas ‘Collectibles’ in Fox Interview

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

Published

10 hours ago

on

November 11, 2025

By

At Veterans Day events at Arlington National Cemetery, President Donald Trump, dressed in a long winter coat, with a scarf and gloves, put his hand over his heart as the band played, “God Bless America,” a patriotic song popularized during World War II, and sung by Kate Smith.

But as the assembled crowd sang the famous American tune, President Trump sang, “God bless America” — but stopped after those three words, seemingly unfamiliar with the lyrics or choosing not to sing the rest. His Vice President, JD Vance, next to him, sang the song.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, Trump also declared, “Today is not only Veterans Day, but it’s my proclamation that we are now going to be saying and calling [it] Victory Day for World War I,” The New York Post reported.

“I saw France was celebrating ‘victory day’, but we didn’t. And I saw France was celebrating another ‘victory day’ for World War II, and other countries were celebrating. They were all celebrated. We’re the one that won the wars,” Trump also said.

READ MORE: White House Says Inflation’s ‘Way Down’ — Americans Aren’t Buying It

This appears to not be the first time the President has had difficulty with “God Bless America.”

“Donald Trump, the president, either does not know or does not care about the lyrics to ‘God Bless America,'” Mashable reported in June 2018, during Trump’s first term.

That same day, The New York Times reported that Trump had stumbled through the lyrics of “God Bless America.”

“The president closed his ‘Celebration of America’ event with a rendition of the patriotic tune, but didn’t quite get all the words.”

READ MORE: Johnson Refuses to Commit to Key Part of Senate Shutdown Deal

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

White House Says Inflation’s ‘Way Down’ — Americans Aren’t Buying It

Published

11 hours ago

on

November 11, 2025

By

Kevin Hassett, director of the White House’s National Economic Council, insists that despite five months of rising prices, inflation is actually “way down.” But polls and recent election results suggest voters see things differently.

Hassett on Tuesday told CNBC, “we’re comfortable that inflation has come way down — the 5% on average, for Joe Biden.”

“It’s probably a little less than half of that right now,” he continued. “And the trajectory is really, really, really good.”

Inflation for the month of December 2024, President Joe Biden’s last full month in office, was 2.9%. It increased to 3.0% in the month of January 2025.

Inflation for the month of September 2025, the last month for which there is Bureau of Labor Statistics data, was 3.0%.

READ MORE: White House Denies Post-Election Pivot as Trump Prepares New Affordability Push

Hassett went on to say that “inflation is one of those things that has a lot of momentum, if you look at the charts…”

“Even though it’s been increasing for five straight months as of September?” CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla asked.

“Well, I guess if you look at it from January, there’s ups and downs and seasonals, but yeah, it surprised on the downside, people were expecting it to accelerate it and it didn’t.”

Economist Justin Wolfers on Tuesday appeared to mock Hassett’s claims by posting a graph.

Voters one week ago took to the polls and delivered a resounding message to Republicans and President Donald Trump. Exit polls show that voters’ number one concern was the economy and affordability, as they decided to put Democrats into office.

READ MORE: Johnson Refuses to Commit to Key Part of Senate Shutdown Deal

And national polls show the same result: the high cost of living, the state of the economy, and affordability are all top of mind for voters, who give President Trump low marks in those areas.

One week ago on Monday, the day before the election, CNN reported, “61% of Americans think Trump has made the economy worse. Could that impact tomorrow’s elections?”

The New York Times shows President Trump’s current average approval rating is 42%, and disapproval rating is 55%.

In mid-October, CNBC reported that on the economy, Trump’s approval was “the lowest of any CNBC survey during either of Trump’s two terms.”

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

White House Denies Post-Election Pivot as Trump Prepares New Affordability Push

Published

13 hours ago

on

November 11, 2025

By

In the days following last Tuesday’s sweeping Democratic victories, Trump administration officials fanned out across news outlets to highlight the administration’s focus on affordability, assuring Americans that prices have fallen under President Donald Trump. The president himself reiterated his claim—made many times before—that grocery prices are “way down.”

Critics say that overall, prices largely have not come down, and inflation remains around 3%—roughly the same level as when President Trump took office earlier this year.

Last Wednesday, Politico reported that a person close to the White House told the news outlet that “The President hasn’t talked about the cost of living in months.”

And White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told Politico, “You’ll see the president talk a lot about cost of living as we turn … into the new year.”

READ MORE: Johnson Refuses to Commit to Key Part of Senate Shutdown Deal

But now the White House is insisting the focus has been there all along, and denies any post-election ramp up.

“It’s not something where we called a meeting Wednesday morning after the election and said, ‘We have to get stuff on the board now,’” an unnamed White House source told Politico on Tuesday. “At both a systemic level and more targeted micro examples, we have been consistently focused on addressing affordability.”

Late last week, the Associated Press confirmed the President’s new messaging focus.

“President Donald Trump is adjusting his messaging strategy to win over voters who are worried about the cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation,” the AP reported. “The messaging is centered around affordability, and the push comes after inflation emerged as a major vulnerability for Trump and Republicans in Tuesday’s elections, in which voters overwhelmingly said the economy was their biggest concern.”

Politico on Tuesday also noted the increase in messaging.

“In the wake of last week’s bruising off-year elections that underscored just how vulnerable the GOP is heading into 2026, Trump has announced a bevy of policies that may ease the pressure on household budgets.”

READ MORE: ‘The Whole Thing Is Imploding’: Chaos and Rebellion at America’s Top Right-Wing Think Tank

Those include a claim he will send low- and middle-income Americans $2,000 tariff dividend checks, and a deal with pharmaceutical companies to sell popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs at reduced prices.

On Sunday, he also proposed sending Americans money for health savings accounts in what appeared to be an attack on Obamacare and insurance companies.

CNBC reported on Tuesday that economists say some of these ideas “are not likely to become policy anytime soon.”

As prices remain high at grocery store checkouts, President Trump, however, has been pushing back on Americans’ affordability focus, while insisting his job is already done.

Last week, Trump “bragged that the price of Walmart’s pre-assembled Thanksgiving Dinner has been reduced by 25% this year,” a Monday USA Today opinion piece by Chris Brennan noted. Also reduced were the number of items in the meal.

“I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” Trump said on November 6, Brennan noted, as he “defended his administration’s attempts to resist a judge’s order to make full federal food assistance program payments, known as SNAP, to 42 million Americans, during the federal government shutdown.”

One day later, “Trump insisted that the recent focus on ‘affordability’ was a ‘con job’ by Democrats.”

Trump repeated his “con job” claim Monday night on Fox News, along with some other incorrect claims, such as the price of gas.

READ MORE: ‘Impossible to Lose’: Trump Pitches Strategy to Cement One-Party Rule

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.