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WASHINGTON, U.S. – A potential move being mulled by the U.S. President Donald Trump could spark not just a massive legal battle, but could mark the biggest overhaul of immigration policy under his administration.

The U.S. President has said in a recently released interview that he plans to sign an executive order to curb birthright citizenship from American law – a move that is sure to draw numerous legal challenges. 

The law, which allows the conferring of citizenship to children of non-citizens who are born in the U.S. is currently guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. 

However, Trump and critics of birthright citizenship believe that the law is misused by pregnant women, who have found an easy path to become U.S. citizens. 

Critics of the law claim that birthright citizenship encourages such pregnant women to travel to the U.S. and have their babies in the country, which grants citizenship for their children and potentially eases their own path to become U.S. citizens.

In an interview with Axios, that is set to broadcast on HBO on Sunday, Trump has reportedly mentioned that he is planning to use an executive order to scrap the law, instead of trying to change the American Constitution through an act of Congress. 

He announced, “It was always told to me that you needed a constitutional amendment. Guess what? You don’t.”

Trump stated in the interview that he has discussed the idea with the White House counsel and said, “It’s in the process. It’ll happen — with an executive order.”

Trump pointed out in the interview that he has the power to act on his own and explained, “You can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they’re saying I can do it just with an executive order.”

The U.S. President explained, “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in, has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years, with all of those benefits. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous, and it has to end.”

Despite arguments by those opposing birthright citizenship, immigration advocates have pointed out that the concerns are overblown.

Further, critics of the Trump administration have claimed that the President’s announcement are part of his campaign to stir up voters less than a week before they head to the polls for the 2018 midterm election.

‘Birthright citizenship NOT driving illegal immigration’

Experts have argued that it is difficult to track the exact number of children whose parents are in the U.S. illegally.

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2014, 3.2 million children or nearly 6 percent of all K-12 students in the U.S., had at least one unauthorized immigrant parent and were citizens because they were born in the U.S.

Further, the Migration Policy Institute has pointed out that even if the U.S. President is able to roll back part of the 14th Amendment, the major policy shift would not reduce the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

The institute pointed to its 2015 study, in which it projected the effects of a potential repeal of birthright citizenship.

The Migration Policy Institute said that it found that such a change would add millions of people to America’s undocumented population within a few decades – creating a new underclass.

At the time the study was published, Michael Fix from the Migration Policy Institute wrote, “Birthright citizenship is not what drives illegal immigration. Surveys have found that people come for jobs and to better their lives.”

Meanwhile, a nonpartisan think tank called the Center for Immigration Studies, which has been calling for tougher U.S. immigration policies, pointed out that the move could spark an almost-certain legal battle.

Mark Krikorian, Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies said, “This will set up the court fight.”

Krikorian wrote on Twitter, that if Trump moves ahead with his plan “the order will be enjoined, case will eventually reach SCOTUS, which then will finally have to rule on the meaning of ‘subject to the jurisdiction.'”

Further, Krikorian pointed out that an executive order on the issue is “long overdue.”

However, Trump’s potential move has already drawn some angry responses. Jess Morales Rocketto from the Families Belong Together group said, “This is ethnic cleansing. This is an attempt to whiteout America’s history and heritage as a nation of immigrants. And it’s unconstitutional.”

Further, Kristen Clarke, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said that Trump’s idea to revoke birthright citizenship is “ill-timed” and misguided.

Clarke said in a statement, “Aside from being unconstitutional, such an executive order would exacerbate racial tensions, exploit fears and drive further polarization across the country at a moment that calls for the promotion of unity and inclusion.”

Voiding the amendment

This is not the first time that Trump has mentioned the idea of voiding the amendment.

In 2015, when the birthright issue became part of his hard-line policies on immigration as a presidential candidate, Trump claimed that scrapping the birthright citizenship law is essential. 

At the time, a Constitutional law professor at Vanderbilt University, Suzanna Sherry argued in an NPR report, “The United States had experienced quite a bit of immigration, and immigration was viewed as a very good thing. And so this was essentially putting out a welcome mat to immigrants by ensuring that their children born here would be citizens.”

Sherry argued, “To change the law, you would need to either amend the 14th Amendment through Congress or ask the Supreme Court to overturn its earlier interpretation of the law and limit its benefit to people who are in the U.S. legally.”

The Birthright citizenship law, which is granted in the 14th Amendment is based on the concept of “right of the soil,” or “jus soli.”

It means that children born in the U.S. have a claim to citizenship, even if their parents lack legal documentation to be in the country.

The law states, “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.”

However, the law excludes the children of foreign diplomats.

Currently, birthright citizenship is the law of at least 30 countries, including all of the countries in Europe, which grant citizenship by jus sanguinis — by “right of blood.”

Trump’s declaration from the interview was released after he told Fox News in an interview that Central American migrants approaching the U.S.-Mexico border in caravans are “wasting their time.”

The U.S. President has vowed, “They are not coming in.”

Trump’s statement came hours after the Pentagon announced that it would deploy about 5,200 troops to the southern border.

The Commander of the U.S. Northern Command announced that troops are being deployed as an effort to “harden the southern border” by stiffening defenses at and near legal entry points.