Columns

The Great Birthright Citizenship Fiasco

Posted on: September 04, 2007

George A. Reimann

By this time it seems “everybody knows” that being born in the USA automatically guarantees citizenship. But it seems “everybody” is flat out wrong about this! The first sentence of the 14th Amendment reads “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.” This is called the Citizenship Clause. The meaning of subject to the jurisdiction thereof is at the center of the dispute.

The dispute could be easily resolved by referring to the debates in the 39th Congress as printed in The Congressional Globe (now The Congressional Record). This should be so easy that even a Congressperson can do it. Senator Jacob Howard (MI) wrote the 14th’s Citizenship Clause and introduced it into the Senate, stating:

[T]his amendment which I have offered is simply declaratory of what I regard as the law of the land already, that every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons.

Rep. John A. Bingham (OH), the author of the 14th Amendment, responded to a comment by Senator Lyman Trumbull: “My own opinion is that all these persons born in the United States and under its authority, owing allegiance to the United States, are citizens without any act of congress.” To which Bingham replied:

I find no fault with the introductory clause, which is simply declaratory of what is written in the Constitution, that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen.

There is more, of course, but it is clear that both the House and the Senate of the 39th Congress agreed on the meaning of the Citizenship Clause. And a sufficient number of states agreed as well, so the 14th Amendment was ratified and became part of our Constitution. Therefore, aliens, legal or otherwise, will be under only the jurisdiction of local ordinances and laws but they owe the nation no allegiance so are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. They cannot vote, be summoned for jury duty, be drafted into the military, etc. To become a naturalized citizen one must swear allegiance to the United States and after having done so full citizenship is obtained. Then the citizen’s progeny also become citizens.

This issue has not been totally ignored by the Congress. Rep. Nathan Deal, (R-GA) has filed a bill to restrict birthright citizenship to children that have at least one parent with U. S. citizenship. Deal has introduced similar bills in three previous years and has not had much luck so far but he seems to be gaining momentum now with 89 co-sponsors. His opponents characterize him as “un-American” and “proposing to change the Constitution to accommodate his anti-immigration and xenophobic beliefs.” Proposing to change the Constitution? That is totally off the wall Orwell-speak. He is trying to adhere to the Constitution. Kind of a refreshing change for Washington dontcha think?

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