If conservatives are counting on the Supreme Court to rule birthright citizenship for illegal aliens unconstitutional, think again – it isn’t the slam dunk many believe it to be. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a better path to abolishing this disastrous policy for good.
Some background: President Trump’s Jan. 20 executive order rolling back birthright citizenship for illegal aliens stipulates that natural-born U.S. citizens must have at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident.
On Feb. 19, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a nationwide injunction on the order until it hears the case in June. Trump’s lawyers will ultimately have to convince the Supreme Court of his interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s Section 1: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside.”
Despite much legal analysis to the contrary, originalist conservatives should be wary of turning to the framers of the 14th Amendment or later Supreme Court rulings on this controversial issue.