ANKENY, Iowa — Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida vowed Saturday that as president he would do something that Donald Trump failed to do: sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship.
In the closing days of campaigning here before Monday’s Iowa caucuses, Mr. DeSantis is urging voters to hold the former president accountable for unkept promises, including on immigration.
“What he promised to do literally would have taken him two minutes to go sit behind the desk, get the sheet of paper, review it, put your John Hancock on it and do it. He had four years and he didn’t even sign that,” Mr. DeSantis said at a campaign stop in Council Bluffs, Iowa.
“What’s worse is he’s now running and 2024 promising that if he can get elected, he’s gonna sign an executive order on birthright citizenship, which he could have done for his first four years,” he said. “So, you know, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Mr. DeSantis said he would sign the executive order, knowing full well it would likely spark a battle in the courts.
“I don’t make promises that I don’t intend to follow through on,” he said.
As it stands, children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens are granted citizenship. Proponents point to the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which says all “persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.”
The issue has divided legal experts.
Many scholars say the 14th Amendment likely guarantees citizenship to those born here. Others say that doesn’t apply to children of illegal immigrants.
Whatever the case, the issue has animated conservative leaders and activists preparing to cast their votes in the GOP presidential race.
Mr. Trump tapped into that frustration in the 2016 campaign, suggesting he would end birthright citizenship if given the chance. As president, he publicly toyed with the idea but never pulled the trigger.
Mr. Trump now is vowing to do so if voters put him back in the White House, saying there shouldn’t be “a reward for breaking the laws of the United States.”
Mr. DeSantis said his record as governor shows voters can trust him more than Mr. Trump to follow through on that fight as president.
“I think it’s wrong if someone comes across the border illegally and has a baby and all of a sudden says, ’That is citizenship.’ That is not what the Constitution was envisioned to do,” Mr. DeSantis said. “I will change that policy.”
- Stephen Dinan contributed to this report.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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