Watch a Trump cabinet official normalize extremism.
In assuring Tucker Carlson’s white nationalist fans that she and Donald Trump are in solidarity with their hatred of immigrants, Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen casually, but with enthusiasm, tossed out the possibility that Donald Trump might issue an executive order overriding the centuries-old interpretation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting citizenship to anyone born here.
In a deep dive into the legal consequences of such an order, Vox correspondent Dara Lind noted in October that Trump was toying with the idea. The 14th Amendment, stating that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” was ratified in 1868. Issuing such an order, Lind pointed out, would be a dare from Trump to the Supreme Court to stop him. She described such a maneuver as “potentially … the biggest constitutional power grab by a president in a century.”
But to Nielsen and white power champ Carlson, such a radical maneuver is no biggie. In fact, Carlson tried to push Nielsen into saying Trump would agree to it. He slipped it into his advocacy for an expansion of the E-Verify program to “punish” employers of undocumented immigrants. Nielsen’s nonchalant amenability was chilling.
Of course, nobody mentioned that Trump’s own businesses have relied on such labor.
CARLSON: It looks like Congress is not going to act because one party has a vested interest in changing the population and the other party is, in effect, controlled by people who want illegal immigration. So would there be a downside for the president to act unilaterally on that question or, for example, birthright citizenship? Would you be willing to draft an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship?
NIELSEN: I think – you know, Tucker, I think the president’s been clear. All of that is on the table, including to close down the border. We have to stop this flow into our communities, we have to stop the drugs, we have to stop the smuggling, gangs. He’s very serious about it. So, yes! I think everything is on the table.
Crossposted from News Hounds
