(Denver, CO) – Nicole Melaku, Executive Director of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) issued the following statement on President Trump and Senator Lindsey Graham’s attempt to unconstitutionally end birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, through executive order or through legislation:
“This morning President Trump’s and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham announced an executive order and proposed legislation to end birthright citizenship. This inflammatory posturing is yet another blatant attempt to to play politics and energize hate before the midterm elections by misusing the power of the government. Similar to President Trump’s deployment of our military on the taxpayer’s dime to the southern border (despite the group of asylum-seekers being weeks away), this demonstrates the Trump regimes desperation to stoke fuel on the hate that is not front and center to our national political discourse.
Trump knows, Senator Graham knows, and we all know that a Constitutional amendment cannot be undone through executive order or simple legislation. President Trump’s characterization of the United States being the only country that practices birthright citizenship is not only incorrect, but a bold faced lie that breaks away from the founding principles of our nation.
Rest assured that on November 6th, the American people will see through this manipulation and desperate attempt to win an election using fear based tactics. The midterm election will be a referendum on hate, racism, and xenophobia and voters will hold all politicians, nationally or locally, to account.
We are better than this and now is the time to defend our highest ideals as one country with a single voice for us to fulfill the promise of a strong democracy where we can disagree without violence, without threats to the most vulnerable among us and instead welcome our newest citizens who will help fulfill the promise of this great nation.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC) is a statewide, membership-based coalition of immigrant, faith, labor, youth, community, business and ally organizations founded in 2002 to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees by making Colorado a more welcoming, immigrant-friendly state. CIRC achieves this mission through non-partisan civic engagement, public education, and advocating for workable, fair and humane immigration policies.
Learn more at coloradoimmigrant.org or on Twitter at @CIRCimmigrant