A commentary by Amy Swearer published in The Daily Signal brought light on what I and many others considered settled law–that someone born in the United Stats is automatically a citizen of the United States.
That is how such newborns are treated now, but Swearer argues that consideration is not being given to the second part of the 14th Amendment.
She points to the second part of the amendment’s first sentence, which appears in boldface type below:
“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.”
Her reading of the legislative history is “that [meant] a person was not meaningfully subject to a foreign power, such that his or her allegiance to the United States was divided or qualified.”
She argues, “It seems obvious that a child born to Mexican citizens illegally in the U.S. is a citizen of Mexico, owes his political allegiance to Mexico, and does not meet this jurisdictional requirement in the amendment.”
Continuing, Swearer addresses children born of tourists who cannot be called for jury duty or drafted into the military because that tourist is not subject to the complete jurisdiction of the U.S.”
She addresses the court cases on the subject, primarily dealing with American Indians and Chinese immigrants, concluding, “American citizenship is reserved for all who, regardless of their race or former allegiances, have taken meaningful legal steps toward solidifying permanent bonds with the American people, have taken up the duties and responsibilities inherent to those bonds, and do not owe political allegiance to any other nation.”
