The U.S.-born children of unlawfully imported former slaves received citizenship in 1868.
Will the Supreme Court rescue President Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, a constitutional provision that grants automatic citizenship to almost anyone born on U.S. soil? Perhaps. But first it must agree to hear the case.
The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, states in part: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” The Trump administration argues that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes children born to people in the country unlawfully or temporarily. Although the Supreme Court has never addressed the issue directly, lower courts have interpreted birthright citizenship to include the children of illegal immigrants.
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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator. Follow him on Twitter here.
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