President Trump caught some administration officials by surprise when he told Axios in an interview that aired Tuesday morning that birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born in U.S. “has to end,” Politico reported.
According to one administration official who spoke to Politico, the proposal was under review by the White House counsel’s office as one of several immigration policies the administration was analyzing, but it was not being seriously considered. That’s because the idea of ending birthright citizenship is one that’s favored by the far-right fringes and would likely not pick up any mainstream traction, Politico reported.
Even former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who openly supports the ideology, thought the issue was too polarizing for the White House to tackle and advised against bringing it out of the shadows while he was in the administration.
Read Politico’s full report here.