So we have this argument over birthright citizenship—does the 14th Amendment to the Constitution grant citizenship to the children of foreigners who are born in this country?
Only if you re-write it.
Here is what the amendment says:
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.
What the left wants to do is strike the second phrase, “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” so that it reads like this:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
Obviously, the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States means something more than just being in the country and being accountable to our laws. If you look at the history and the comments of the Congressman who drafted the amendment, and the discussions that occurred when it was debated, the phrase meant people who owed allegiance to the United States. It was specifically said that it was not to refer to the children of diplomats or any other foreign nationals residing in the United States. It was even specifically said that it did not apply to the children of native Americans, since those parents owed allegiance to their tribes and not to the federal government.
So you have to re-write it to get the interpretation of birthright citizenship out of it—something, of course, that the Left is very good at.
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