From CBS News:
President Trump, seeking to limit immigration to the U.S., is set to challenge a 150-year-old constitutional standard that anyone born in America is an American citizen. Mr. Trump told "Axios on HBO" that he plans to sign an executive order to "remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on U.S.-soil."
If Trump wants to be impeached, then he should do what he threatens to do.
In the SCOTUS case of
United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a person born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen even if that person's parents are citizens of another nation.
So, Trump doesn't have the authority to "remove the right to citizenship for babies of non-citizens and unauthorized immigrants born on U.S.-soil."
Granted, Trump most-extreme supporters won't care if he tries to violate a SCOTUS ruling.
I have always felt the Constitution was ambiguously written in many places. this being one. In the clause of citizenship there are TWO conditions. being born here AND being under the jurisdiction of the US. Now, how people interpret that second part or if they even consider it is grey enough area for debate.
To me, if all the second clause means is that you are born in the US, there is no need to have it there. It seems like it is a second and unique condition, which maybe takes into account the circumstances by which that birtth happened in the US.
If parents were just traveling, or visiting, it certainly wouldnt seem sensible that their child then has a different citizenship than they. If they are military on a base, or if they are present illegally, it seems the same, that the 'jurisdiction' portion may be interpreted to exclude those situations. But Im not on the superme court.
Edited by
msharmony
on Tue 10/30/18 04:00 PM