Trump's top adviser says children of immigrants a 'problem' for US

These comments come as the US administration is asking the Supreme Court to back Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship

The US has been tightening its immigration policies to prioritise American workers. Taking this approach to a new level, Stephen Miller, one of US President Donald Trump’s closest advisers, has claimed that even the children of immigrants are a problem, according to a report by The New York Times.

 

Miller, the report says, believes that decades of immigration have created millions of people who "take more than they give" to the US. Miller has argued that immigration causes long-term problems for the US that continue across generations. According to him, not only do some immigrants struggle in their first generation, but their children and grandchildren also continue to face similar issues.

 

 

Citing Somalia as an example, Miller had earlier said that immigrant communities show "persistent" problems across generations, including high use of welfare, higher crime rates, and failure to properly integrate into American society.  ALSO READ | '60 Minutes' segment on Trump immigration policy accidentally airs online

Ending US birthright citizenship

These comments come as the Trump administration is asking the US Supreme Court to back his executive order to end birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is a long-standing rule that gives automatic US citizenship to anyone born on American soil.

 

Soon after taking office, Trump signed the order. According to the order, a child would not get US citizenship if the mother was in the country illegally at the time of birth and the father was not a US citizen or a permanent resident.

 

Citizenship would also be denied if the mother was in the US legally but only for a short stay, such as on a tourist, student, work, or visa waiver programme, and the father was not a US citizen or a permanent resident.  ALSO READ | Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa application fee upheld by US federal judge

US crackdown on immigration

The Trump administration has been tightening immigration rules across the board. On Tuesday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced changes to the H-1B visa programme. The random lottery system will be replaced with a new selection process that favours higher-skilled and higher-paid workers.

 

Earlier this year, the administration also introduced a new annual fee of $100,000 for H-1B applications, making it much more expensive for employers to hire foreign workers.