Birthright Citizenship
Yale University constitutional law professor Akhil Reed Amar claims that “America’s Constitution” makes “all people born on American soil and under the American flag” “equal birthright citizens” “regardless of their parentage.”
IN FACT, the Constitution grants birthright citizenship only to people who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, not everyone “within its jurisdiction.” The U.S. Senator who crafted this language, Jacob Howard, introduced it in the Senate by stating that this “will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who”:
- are “foreigners, aliens,”
- “belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers,”
- are not subject to the “full and complete jurisdiction” of the United States, meaning the “same jurisdiction in extent and quality as applies to every citizen of the United States now.”
Those and a wealth of other facts show that:
- the Constitution doesn’t grant birthright citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants, temporary residents, visitors, or tourists.
- the oft-cited 1898 Supreme Court ruling in Wong Kim Ark applied to the child of legal immigrants — not illegal immigrants.
- the doctrine of citizenship by soil and flag is grounded in “feudal” and imperial dogmas that the founders of the U.S. rejected.
