Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship?

In an interview with Axios, President Trump revealed that he planned on issuing an executive order to end birthright citizenship which is guaranteed under the 14th amendment: “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.” In the interview, President Trump also claimed that the United States is only one of the few countries that offers birthright citizenship: “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years, with all of those benefits,” but about three dozen other countries also offer birthright citizenship, including Canada and Mexico.

Despite President Trump’s plans on issuing an executive order, it will not have the power to nullify an amendment in the constitution. An amendment in the constitution can only be undone by ⅔ votes in both houses in Congress or through a constitutional convention called for by ⅔ of the state legislatures.

Do you think President Trump’s potential executive order should impact birthright citizenship?

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/politics/trump-birthright-citizenship.html

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/31/politics/birthright-citizenship-world-intl/index.html

Jacob Wohl Found to be Organizer for Smear Plot Against Robert Muller

Last week, a spokesperson for special counsel Robert Muller—who is currently responsible for  leading the investigation for Russian interference in the 2016 election—asked the FBI to investigate claims that women were being offered money to make false accusations about sexual misconduct against Muller.

One person, identifying herself as Parsons, told journalists in an email that she had been offered roughly $20,000 by a man claiming to work for a company named Surefire Intelligence “to make accusations of sexual misconduct and workplace harassment against Robert Mueller.”

It was later confirmed that these attempts at creating false accusations were being circulated by pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl, who not only attempted to fabricate the false information, but also created the website which the requests were distributed from.

Early last Tuesday, Wohl was exited to tease that allegations were coming against Mueller. He claimed: “Several media sources tell me that a scandalous story about Mueller is breaking tomorrow. Should be interesting. Stay tuned!" Not too long after journalists received the email, however, suspicion quickly arose.

As it turns out, the website in charge of paying the women, Surefire Intelligence, was only incorporated in Delaware less than a month ago. Surefire Intelligence described itself as “a private intel agency that designs and executes bespoke solutions for businesses and individuals who face complex business and litigation challenges.” Even more suspiciously, Surefire’s domain records list an email for Jacob Wohl, and the telephone number listed on Surefire’s website referred callers to a number listed in public records as belonging to his mother.

Question: What do you think can be done to combat widespread smear allegations against political individuals while still allowing legitimate ones to be recognized?

Sources:
Washington Post
The Atlantic
NBC News

President Wants to use Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship

On October 30, 2018, Mr. Trump claimed that he wants to issue an executive order that would take away an amendment of the constitution. This order would take away the birthright of citizenship that all people that are born in the U.S have. Trump went on to say, “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years, with all of those benefits”. This seems to be another grasp for attention in the Trump presidency era, and this executive order would most likely fail due to the fact that it would require House, Senate, and State majorities to pass a constitutional amendment.

Even members of his own party , such as Paul Ryan have criticized this move, saying it will never happen, and that the 14th amendment is very secure. What Trump and team will try to do is get the supreme court to change the language of the 14th amendment to prevent birthright citizenship. This idea came after Trump’s administration moved 5,000 troops to the southern border, making it seem like this all part of Trump’s exaggerated claims about anti immigration. This executive order is extremely anti American, and strips away the rights that the constitution laid out for everyone on American soil.

Do you think that the Trump can issue this executive order?

What does this reveal about Trump’s priorities as a president?

Works Cited:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/politics/trump-birthright-citizenship.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-eyeing-executive-order-to-end-citizenship-for-children-of-noncitizens-born-on-us-soil/2018/10/30/66892050-dc29-11e8-b3f0-62607289efee_story.html?utm_term=.45d0416a89a5

North Dakota Judge denies emergency injunction from Native Americans to stop the Voter ID Law

On November 2, 2018, Daniel Hovland, a North Dakota District judge denied an emergency injunction from Native Americans to block the implementation of the Voter ID law. This law(previously upheld by the Supreme Court) requires all voters from North Dakota to provide a state or tribe issued ID and a street address in order to vote. Since many Native Americans in North Dakota live on reservations in rural areas, they don’t have house numbers or street names. Those that live there have to use post office box addresses in order to receive their mail. In fact, 35% of the Native American population does not have an acceptable ID or address. This has resulted in limited access towards many Native Americans to become informed voters and gaining outside resources.

Many Native Americans claim that this law is an act of voter suppression but this allegation has been dismissed due to upcoming elections. Since North Dakota has one of the smallest state populations in the U.S., they don’t find it necessary to install a voter registration system for their citizens. Hovland defends the Voter ID law, claiming that this is the only way to ensure who is voting. However, this is also the same judge that said implementing this new Voter ID law would be a burden for Native Americans that are attempting to exercise their right to vote.

Question: Do you think that North Dakota is being fair towards its citizens by implementing a Voter ID law or should they focus on creating a voter registration system?

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/judge-denies-native-american-motion-block-voter-id/story?id=58923035

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/31/politics/native-american-tribe-suing-north-dakota-voter-id/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/02/663417341/judge-rules-native-americans-in-north-dakota-must-comply-with-voter-id-law

Pentagon Refuses President Trump's Request for Troops

Following the migrant caravan's trek through Mexico, president Donald Trump and his administration have requested troops to come to the US-Mexico border for "crowd and traffic control". Trump has stated that he aims to have 15,000 troops at the border. However, on October 26, the Pentagon declined the request for troops, stating that the job that the troops have been requested for fell out of the job description for the troops' deployment. The Pentagon stated that the job that the troops were being sent was domestic law enforcement, something US troops cannot do unless it is an emergency or permission from the president. Along with these statements, the Pentagon has also said that if the troops were still wanted along the border for protection, the Defense Department should contact the White House and have them grant special permission for the troops.

The Pentagon has refused Donald Trump and his administration's request for US army troops to come to the US-Mexico border. This is related to American democracy because this event deals with the powers/controls of the White House vs the US Pentagon.

Do you think we should have 15,000 troops at the border? Is there an alternative to this? What should we do with the migrant caravan?

Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/politics/white-house-pentagon-troops-border/index.html
https://thehill.com/policy/defense/414651-pentagon-denied-white-house-request-for-troops-to-perform-law-enforcement

Nigerian Army Uses Trump's Words to Justify a Fatal Shooting of Protesters

On November 2, the Nigerian army's official Twitter account posted a video of Trump's speech at White House with the comment: "Please watch and make your deductions." In Trump's speech, he suggested that the military could open fire at any rock-throwing migrant crossing into the US. The Nigerian army used Trump's words to justify the fatal shootings of rock-throwing protesters that happened on Monday, during a march of 1,000 Islamic Shiite activists who blocked traffic on the outskirts of the capital, Abuja.

The army said that the soldiers opened fire in self-defense because the members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria threw stones at their troops and attacked its convoy carrying ammunition. According to Amnesty International, at least 45 people were killed and 122 people were wounded. Those who were injured was shot in many different areas -- head, neck, back, chest, shoulder, legs, arms -- and some of them had multiple gunshot wounds. This clearly shows that the soldiers were not ordered to restore peace, but to kill the protester. Human rights activists and many Nigerians were outraged by the military's response, which had a similar confrontation in 2015, when soldiers killed nearly 350 protesters from the same group, IMN.

Question

Do you think that it is right for Trump to suggest the military to shoot the migrants?
What is your reaction to actions of the Nigerian Army?

Source:

CNN

The New York Times

Xi-Trump Phone Call "Extremely Positive"?

On November 1st, President Donald Trump said that he spoke to
Chinese President Xi Jinping amid concerns about escalating trade
tensions between the US and China. In a tweet, Trump said he had
a "long and very good conversation" with the Chinese leader,
"with a heavy emphasis on trade." He added that "those discussions
are moving along nicely" ahead of planned face-to-face meetings
at the G-20 summit in Argentina later this month.

On July 6, the U.S. specifically targeted China by imposing 25% tariffs
on $34 billion of imported Chinese goods as part of Trump's tariffs
policy, which then led China to respond with similarly sized tariffs on
U.S. products. A tariff on an additional $16 billion of Chinese imports
was added in mid-August, with China responding proportionately. A
further tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods went into effect on
September 24, to which China responded with tariffs on $60 billion
of US goods.

The US stock market had dropped after the trade war has been announced.
Technology companies sank again after Bloomberg News reported that
the US is planning new tariffs if the two sides do not make progress in
trade. The S&P 500 index has dropped 9.4% in October and is marked as
the worst monthly loss since February 2009(a period during the 2008
financial crisis).

The November phone call has not marked the end of a trade war yet,
but Trump claimed he and Xi Jinping are working hard to end the war.
Do you think the conversation will mark the end of the war?

Sources:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-signals-progress-on-trade-after-phone-call-with-chinese-president-xi-1541083811

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/01/trump-says-he-and-chinas-xi-exchanged-long-and-very-good-trade-conversation.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/trump-claims-he-chinese-president-xi-jinping-are-working-hard-ncna930116

https://www.scmp.com/news/article/2170768/wall-street-falls-hard-again-roller-coaster-day-after-report-us-planning-new