The topic of
discussion for this Constitution Monday comes to us from Chad Kent about the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Mr. Kent writes and speaks about the
Constitution in such a way to make it “simple and fun.” He had the audacity to state that it does not
really matter what you or I think about illegal immigration because “it has
absolutely no impact on the meaning of the 14th Amendment. Whether you love the idea of birthright
citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants or you hate it – it doesn’t
matter.
“Truth is truth and the 14th
Amendment means what it means. That’s
what I intend to cover in this post.
“With that out of the way, let’s
take a look at the relevant part of the 14th Amendment: `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.’” (Emphasis mine)
Mr. Kent explained the fact that
belief by the “mainstream media and the political class in Washington, D.C.”
does not make a truth. They are “dead
wrong” in their belief. He then
proceeded to give two reasons why they are wrong. All persons must meet two requirements before
they are guaranteed citizenship in the United States by our Constitution: (1) “The person has to be born or naturalized
in the United States AND” (2) “The person has to be subject to the jurisdiction
thereof.” Both conditions must be met in
order for a person to be a citizen of the United States.
Continuing his explanation, Mr.
Kent asked a question: “What did the
framers of this amendment mean by `subject to the jurisdiction thereof’?” He quoted two former Senators who helped to
write the amendment. Senator Lyman
Trumball of Illinois: “Not owing
allegiance to anybody else.” Senator
Reverdy Johnson of Maryland: “… not
subject to some foreign Power.”
Then Mr. Kent summarized: “So in order to be guaranteed birthright
citizenship a personal has to be born in the United States and owe no allegiance to any foreign country. Obviously, people who come into this country
illegally owe at least some allegiance to their home country – and so would
their children. Because of that, the
children of illegal immigrants do not meet both of the requirements necessary
to be guaranteed citizenship by our Constitution.”
Mr. Kent quoted “one of the
primary authors of this part of the 14th Amendment”: “This 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 the families of embassadors or foreign
ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include
every other class of persons.” (Emphasis
mine)
Closing Mr. Kent stated: “So according to one of the people
responsible for writing this clause, it was not intended to give birthright citizenship
to `foreigners’ or `aliens’ – and without question the children of illegal
immigrants would be included in at least one of those categories.”
I agree with the conclusion of
Mr. Kent. The Fourteenth Amendment does
not guarantee United States citizenship simply because a person is born on
United States soil or in United States air space or on the water surrounding
the United States. Any child born here
must have at least one parent who is in the United States legally and subject
to our laws in order to be considered a true citizen of the United States. Those of us who understand this principle
must continue to make it known; otherwise, our nation will be filled with
residents who are “subject” to other nations and possibly willing to undermine
our own. We must declare the “truth” of
the Fourteenth Amendment!
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