The reason why U.S. is quiet about birthright citizenship

The international community has looked upon the Dominican Republic's (DR) immigration policy with disfavor. It has been deporting Haitian immigrants and their Dominican-born children, sending them to neighboring Haiti. The DR Supreme Court ruled in 2013 children of non-Dominican parentage, residing in the DR between 1929 and 2010, claim no residency rights and should be deported. The majority of non-Dominicans in the DR are Haitian.

The DR's actions have become a campaign topic for the U.S. Republican Party. Its presidential candidates want to re-amend the Constitution's 14th Amendment to strip the progeny of immigrants to the U.S. of citizenship. In particular, Republicans want immigrant women, who have given birth to babies on U.S. soil, to be deported.

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is leading the charge, wanting to change the 14th Amendment to discontinue birthright citizenship. To amend or repeal the 14th Amendment, it would take two-thirds in the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as three quarters of votes in state legislatures.

Trump has other ideas about how to tackle the immigration problem. He wants to deport 11 million non-documented immigrants, and temporarily stop issuing green cards. But according to America's Voice Maribel Hastings it would be ". . . a logistical nightmare that could take up to 20 years . . ." She adds Trump ". . . overlooks the huge economic cost . . . which could range from $300 billion to $600 billion . . ."

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