The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is unambiguous on the matter of birthright citizenship. It states, and I quote, “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.” The left will tell you that this somehow doesn’t apply to children of illegal immigrants. This is absurd.
The Trump administration’s attempt to deny citizenship to children born to people in the country illegally is not only legally indefensible but fundamentally un-American. Here’s why:
- The Constitution doesn’t care about your feelings on immigration. It cares about facts. And the fact is, if you’re born here, you’re a citizen. Period.
- The idea that we can simply reinterpret the 14th Amendment based on current political whims is a dangerous precedent. By that logic, why stop at birthright citizenship? Why not reinterpret the entire Bill of Rights while we’re at it?
- This brings me to my next argument: the rule of law. If the executive branch can unilaterally decide who is and isn’t a citizen, we’re no longer a nation of laws, but a nation of men. And that is the road to tyranny.
Now, let’s say, for the sake of argument, that we wanted to change birthright citizenship. You know what that would require? A constitutional amendment. Not an executive order. Not a court ruling. An amendment. That’s how our system works.
The fact that multiple federal judges have blocked this order should tell you something. It’s not because they’re “activist judges” or part of the “deep state.” It’s because the order is, objectively speaking, unconstitutional.
If you want to change birthright citizenship, convince the American people to amend the Constitution. Don’t try to circumvent it. Because facts don’t care about your feelings on immigration policy. And the fact is, this order is legally indefensible.