Now
that Donald Trump is talking about ending birthright citizenship, other
candidates who have never mentioned it before like Scott Walker are as
well. But contrary to what the media would have you believe, the
Constitution doesn't have to be amended to end birthright citizenship.
All it would take would be an act of Congress.
If an illegal alien has a child on American soil, the Constitution
does not require the child be granted American citizenship. Congress can give
citizenship to anyone it wants, but the Fourteenth Amendment only commands
citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil to parents who are not citizens of a foreign
country.
Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment begins, “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.”
This
makes it appear that illegal alien children are citizens, if they are
"born" in the United States, right? Not so. The key
phrase here is "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." Babies
born in the U.S. are citizens if they are subject to the jurisdiction of the
U.S. Illegal aliens, by virtue of not being citizens, or even being in
the country legally, are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States. They're foreigners. Therefore, illegal children born here
are not subject to citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
While many erroneously claim that the Fourteenth Amendment
guarantees citizenship to anyone born on American soil, the reality is that is
not the law and has never been the law. Current immigration law–found at 8
U.S.C. § 1401(a)–specifies that a baby born on American soil to (1) a foreign
ambassador, (2) head of state, or (3) foreign military prisoner is not an
American citizen.
If
the 14th Amendment said all people born here were citizens, how could 8 USC
1401 carve out these exceptions? The fact is, if Congress can make these
exceptions, the 14th Amendment is not absolute, and the Congress can also make
another exception for people in the country illegally.
But
don't expect John Boehner or Mitch McConnell to line up any votes on this
soon. They wouldn't want to alienate the Hispanic community the way
Donald Trump has (he's actually leading among Hispanics in
Nevada).
When
you think about it, why should children of lawbreaking trespassers be entitled
to citizenship? Why should we reward the parents for their
illegality? Just think: if a man robs a bank but gives the money to his
kids, why are we heartless for taking the money back?
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2015/08/congress_can_end_birthright_citizenship_simply_by_passing_a_law.html#.VdUbeDFejQ8.mailto
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