(Reuters) -Republican U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin said on Sunday he believes babies born in the United States to immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported alongside their parents if the adults are removed.
Mullin’s comments on NBC’s “Meet the Press” came in response to questions about a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Friday that paved the way for President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship to go into effect soon in some states.
The court’s ruling did not address the legality of Trump’s order, which would upend the historic practice of granting U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the country regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Mullin what should happen to babies born in the United States whose parents are deported, given that the children are U.S. citizens under current law.
“Well, they should go where their parents are,” said Mullin, of Oklahoma. “Why wouldn’t you send a child with their parents? I mean, why would you want to separate them?”
Friday’s court decision caused confusion among immigrants and advocates, who scrambled to understand the practical effects if birthright citizenship applies to babies born in some states but not in others.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone and Mark Porter)
