Brodieman 12

Regarding birthright citizenship, did you you know... In 2023, there were between 225,000 and 250,000 babies born to illegal immigrants. That's more than the babies born in all but two US states, taken individually. It's also more than the total number of babies born to legal, noncitizens, per The Center for Immigration Studies. Right now, there are reports of expectant mothers who are either illegal or in the US under temporary parole, lining up for preterm c-sections to beat President Trump's Feb 20th cutoff date, some as early as 7 months gestation. France, New Zealand, and Australia have all abandoned birthright citizenship in the past few decades. Ireland was the last country in the European Union to follow the practice, ending it in 2005. Framers of the 14th Amendment, including Senator Lyman Trumbull, considered the driving force behind the amendment, specifically stated at the time that the Citizenship Clause does not encompass individuals still owing allegiance to any other country. The language in the 14 Amendment was derived from the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which provided that “[a]ll persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power” would be considered citizens. Two Supreme Court cases upheld that the 14th Amendment excludes citizens of foreign countries born in the US, The Slaughter-House Cases (1872) and Elk v. Wilkins (1884). The 14th Amendment did not originally grant citizenship to American Indians. Why not? Because they were considered to hold allegiances to tribal nations and were only "partially" subject to the jurisdiction of the US Government. American Indians and their children did not become citizens until 1924 with passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, despite being born on American soil. Why would they need this law if simply being born within the US automatically granted someone citizenship? Birthright proponents like to cite the 1898 Supreme Court case, United States v. Wong, but conveniently forget that even then, the child's Chinese parents resided in the United States lawfully and permanently. The 14th Amendment was clearly written to grant citizenship to freed slaves born in America, not to illegals who owe allegiance, are citizens of a foreign country, and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." It's time to protect and preserve the value of American citizenship and finally get this right.