Why Trump is Correct About Birthright Citizenship

The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” was intended to exclude American-born persons from automatic citizenship whose allegiance to the United States was not complete. With illegal aliens who are unlawfully in the United States, their native country has a claim of allegiance on the child. Thus, the completeness of their allegiance to the United States is impaired, which therefore precludes automatic citizenship.  …  Sen. Jacob M. Howard, author of the citizenship clause

Make no mistake we are finally talking about the 14th Amendment,  birthright citizenship  and its impact on the country because of Donald Trump’s bid to become president. Anchor babies have long been an issue Progressives, radical Democrats, and the MSM have deliberately down-played while ridiculing those who seek to see the Constitution properly upheld.  Those who consider themselves Constitutionalists are portrayed as racists, uncouth unpolished “nativists” deserving contempt.

Donald Trump’s entrance into the GOP race for president has once again ignited a long standing battle over the meaning of birthright citizenship between two competing groups. It may also produce an honest discussion about this critically important issue.

Hard core Progressives, believe in the theory of a living Constitution. What they really mean is selective enforcement and interpretation of the Constitution.  Put another way, if you like a law enforce it. If you don’t like a law ignore it.

Trump supporters, many in the GOP, independents, and a lesser known group of attorneys and jurists believe in enforcing the Constitution as written (original intent). What this means is if you don’t like a law change or amend it but don’t ignore or selectively enforce it!

These two camps are also aligned against each other as it relates to the Constitutional requirement of Natural Born Citizenship for the presidency. Both the NBC clause (Article II Section 1 Clause 5) and birthright citizenship (as defined in the 14^th Amendment) are linked by the open borders gang. The MSM refused to cover the issue honestly and truthfully, but Trump was right about Obama’s citizenship, even if Obama’s birth certificate was a secondary issue.

Progressives, radical Democrats, print journalists, and many well-known on-air personalities/attorneys know that open borders bringing a flood of illegal immigrants intentionally dilutes U.S. citizenship. This political faction believes that the Constitution and U.S. citizenship are quaint concepts to be ignored and overturned. They talk about the rule of law and give it lip service, but rarely practice it. One of the reasons, no strike that, one of the excuses used is the Constitution is just so darn hard to change through the amendment process!

Attorneys and liberal professors from the country’s most prestigious law schools are in the ranks leading the charge.  The MSM’s legal Constitutional experts on speed dial are blowing smoke, conflating the issues and intentionally lying.  These Constitutional lawyers  get away with twisting the truth because way too much deference is paid to them, most of it undeserved. They are corrupt propagandists who get away with their mendacity because too few of us take the time to actually go to the source (ahem, the Constitution and its amendments) and read what is written.

All of which brings us to Donald Trump’s run for the presidency, his campaign launch and his position on birthright citizenship.

When the 14^th Amendment was passed, it was after slavery had been declared unconstitutional. The Civil War had ended but many Southern Democrats continued to continue the battle under the cover of states’ rights. At that time in our history there were many states trying to limit the citizenship rights of the newly freed slave population with Jim Crow laws.

The 14^th Amendment as passed was designed to grant citizenship to and protect the civil liberties of recently freed slaves. Granting citizenship to native-born black Americans and their children in this manner prevented states from “denying or abridging the privileges or immunities” of all U.S. citizens.  The 14^th Amendment  gave the newly freed slaves, now U.S. citizens equal protection under the laws of our country.

The key phrase in the 14^th Amendment is “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” and it is what provides that U.S. citizenship is intended for those lawfully in the country, under the jurisdiction of its laws and those who can legally claim allegiance to the U.S.

Those native born in other countries and their children, under the jurisdiction of the laws of their native country and without allegiance to the U.S. are not  guaranteed automatic citizenship by virtue of placing their feet on U.S. soil as the open borders crowd would have you believe.

The good news is Trump has forced the GOP, the Democrats, and the MSM to bring the kind of focus birthright citizenship deserves. The bad news, however, is the open door policy espoused by the Obama administration especially in the last seven years has placed our country in danger.

Sadly, the use and misuse of the 14th Amendment has been going on for over 100 years. It has become the go-to amendment for the Supreme Court to use for cases having absolutely nothing to do with ensuring the rights and ensuring the protection of native-born black citizens of this country.

The equal protection clause which  provides for equal protection under the law for life, liberty, and property has been used for everything from whether a state statue a state statute can prohibit counseling on birth control to married couples Griswold v. Connecticut to the recent case upholding same sex marriage in all 50 states Obergefell v. Hodges.

In truth, the 14th Amendment has gone from post Civil War reconstruction legislation to a club used by Progressive politicians and their friends on the Court to find new rights never enumerated or conceived of by the framers of the Constitution.