A White House spokesperson declined to say whether children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States can access so-called "Trump accounts," telling reporters on Monday that the question had not been discussed with the president.
That's not something I've discussed directly with the President, so I don't want to speak out of turn on that.
The spokesperson, pressed after a question linking the administration's birthright citizenship stance to the child benefit program, confirmed that all American citizen children currently qualify. The exchange exposed a gap between the White House's hardline anti-immigration rhetoric — including its pledge to work with Congress to end what it called a "scam" of birth tourism — and a benefits program that, as stated, turns on citizenship status.
The spokesperson was asked directly whether children of what the administration termed "illegal aliens" have access to the Trump accounts, seeded with $1,000 per child from the Treasury. The spokesperson demurred, pivoting to the broader birthright citizenship fight: "We're going to continue to move forward to work with Congress, hopefully in the future, to remedy this problem in our country."
The White House has framed birthright citizenship as a practice where "foreigners from all around the world traveling to our country to give birth to babies who are then given the greatest privilege on the face of the planet, American citizenship." The spokesperson said that's "not how our founding fathers intended this country to work or to operate" and that the administration "is committed to finding solutions to remedy that."
That rhetoric collides with the Trump accounts program as it currently stands. Asked whether children of undocumented immigrants are covered, the spokesperson offered no policy clarification — only a personal dodge and a restatement of the existing rule.
"As you know, Kerry, all American citizen children are able to access the Trump accounts as it stands."
The dodge leaves open whether the administration intends to carve out an exclusion for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants — a group whose citizenship the White House is simultaneously fighting to revoke.