Washington (CNN)

House Speaker Paul Ryan told a Kentucky radio station on Tuesday that "you cannot end birthright citizenship with an executive order," remarks that come after President Donald Trump said that he has thought about trying to do just that.

"You obviously cannot do that," Ryan told WVLK when asked by an interviewer about the President's recent comments and where he stands on "an executive order ending birthright citizenship."

Ryan went on to say, "As a conservative, I'm a believer in following the plain text of the Constitution and I think in this case the 14th Amendment is pretty clear."

The right to citizenship for anyone born in the United States is guaranteed in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

But the House speaker sought to emphasize common ground with the President on immigration, saying, "Where we obviously totally agree with the President is getting at the root issue here, which is unchecked illegal immigration. We -- House Republicans and this President -- are in total agreement on the need to stop illegal immigration, to secure our border and fix our laws."

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