"BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP" PREDICTION

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: 469

As you know, there is an ongoing debate about whether our Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers automatic citizenship upon any person born within the boundaries of the United States. In fact there is now even a lawsuit pending before our country’s Supreme Court about this issue. So I hereby give you a prediction on how this lawsuit will be decided: The U.S. Supreme Court will rule that it does not. What is the basis for this prediction? In the first place, the pertinent language of the 14th Amendment is as follows: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States . . .” (Emphasis added.) Bluntly speaking, if people who were born in our country were to become automatic citizens, that would make the words “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” surplusage and of no meaning. And that would be an absurd result.

So what did this phrase mean? Well, the principal supporters of the passage of that Amendment were explicit in saying that to become a citizen the person would have to owe exclusive allegiance to the United States, and not to any other country. Obviously, if I were to be traveling in a foreign country I would be bound by their criminal justice and traffic laws, etc., but I would still be an American, and subject to its jurisdiction. So I could call our embassy and request assistance if I were in some form of legal trouble there. But I hold those supporters accountable because when the 14th Amendment was passed back in 1868 they never anticipated the development of the airplane. Think of it this way: what if a pregnant lady who was a Mexican citizen was on an airplane flying from Mexico City to Toronto, but while her plane was stopped in St. Louis to refuel she gave birth? Would any reasonable person believe that that child automatically should be a citizen of the United States? No, the answer is that the decisions regarding who comes to and stays in the United States of America belongs to We the People and not to non-citizens!

Historically the 14th Amendment was passed so that former slaves who were born here would become citizens. How were they different from the baby born to the mother flying to Toronto? Because they were not subject to the jurisdiction of any other country. But the Native American Indians would not be citizens because they were still subject to the jurisdiction of their native tribes. (This was changed in 1870 when Congress began to offer citizenship to Indians on a tribe-by-tribe basis, and it culminated in 1923 when Congress gave a universal offer of citizenship to any Indian who consented to it.) So yes, Life is Complicated! But, when historically analyzed, it takes more to become a citizen of the United States under our Constitution than being born here. And rightfully so!

(Question: Where do Rainbows go when they’re bad? Answer: To prism. It’s a light sentence, but it gives them time to reflect.)