How Do We Stop Automatic Birthright Citizenship for Illegal Alien Babies?

Politicians are finally on the same page as everyday Americans as to American birthright citizenship. Section I of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states: “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. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

According to this site, the Fourteenth Amendment was written and ratified to solve a problem concerning former African American slaves, not people entering the United States illegally.

Following the Civil War, Congress submitted to the states three amendments as part of its Reconstruction program to guarantee equal civil and legal rights to Black citizens. A major provision of the 14 Amendment was to grant citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States,” thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people.

Legislation has finally been put forward to change the thinking about what the Fourteen Amendment says. Obviously, Republican Rep. Matt Gaeta (R-Florida), sponsor of the bill, wants to push back against the prevailing idea that a baby born on U.S. soil automatically becomes an American citizen regardless of the citizenship status of its parent(s).

“Birthright citizenship has been grossly and blatantly misapplied for decades, recently becoming a loophole for illegal aliens to fraudulently abuse our immigration system. My legislation recognizes that American citizenship is a privilege – not an automatic right to be co-opted by illegal aliens” Gaetz said, according to a press release.

Alex Nitzberg at The Blaze emphasized that the Fourteenth Amendment is not the only document the specifies the requirements for becoming an American citizen. “The Immigration and Nationality Act likewise stipulates that “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” qualifies as an American citizen. 

According to Nitzberg, Gaetz is not attempting to amend the Fourteen Amendment. However, he does seek to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act by stipulating that “the term ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof’ means, with respect to a person born in the United States, that the person was born to a parent who is, at the time of the person’s birth,” any of the following: “a national of the United States,” “a refugee,” “an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence,” or “an alien performing active service in the armed forces.”

In addition to Gaetz, former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have both indicated that they intend to act against the idea of automatic birthright citizenship for babies born to people who are in American illegally.

“We will take action to end the idea that the children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship if they are born in the United States,” DeSantis’ website states.

“Dangling the prize of citizenship to the future offspring of illegal immigrants is a major driver of illegal migration. It is also inconsistent with the original understanding of 14^th Amendment, and we will force the courts and Congress to finally address this failed policy.”

Trump explained his avenue for acting against the automatic birthright citizenship concept. He “would sign an executive order informing ‘federal agencies that under the correct interpretation of the law … the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship.”