Trump insists that he can revoke
birthright citizenship through an executive order. This is the most
bizarre and chilling thing I've ever heard a president say.
The 14th Amendment
guarantees citizenship to everyone born on US soil as long as they
are born to parents who are subject to US jurisdiction. Being subject
to US jurisdiction means you can be arrested and put on trial if you
break the law. Of course this includes US citizens, but it also
includes tourists, business travelers, foreign exchange students, and
illegal aliens. Yes, illegal aliens are subject to US jurisdiction.
If they weren't subject to US jurisdiction, then nothing they do
would be illegal. Foreign diplomats and visiting heads of state are
NOT subject to US jurisdiction. So if the next Queen of England were
to give birth in New York, that British prince would still not be a
US citizen.
Anything this president can do, the
next president will try it too. If President Trump is allowed to
override the Constitution with a executive order in 2018, then in
2025, President Pinko McGungrabber will also be able to do the same
thing after he takes the oath of office with his hand on a copy of
Mao's little red book.
Revoking birthright citizenship will
have drawbacks. A child born in the US might not be eligible for
citizenship in the country that his parents are from. This creates a
stateless person, someone who owes no allegiance to any country. For
such a person to be deported, another country would have to be
willing to accept them. Stateless people can pose quite a security
risk. Osama Bin Laden was a stateless person after he was exiled from
Saudi Arabia. Citizenship must begin at birth and end at death.
The primary benefit of birthright
citizenship is that as long as you are born here, you are a citizen
and that cannot be revoked. You can never be deported. Any
foreign-born woman who loves America so much that she is willing go
through labor or undergo a C-section has forever earned the right to
stay.
