Found a fascinating quote on naturalized citizenship today.
"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 ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons." Jacob B. Howard, 1866. Bolded is mine for emphasis.
The quote is from Jacob B. Howard- the principal draftsman of the 14th. The intent, stated clearly- is that illegal immigrants (aliens) are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States and are not entitled to birthright citizenship.
Sen. Howard died 5 years after this quote, but he made the intent of the 14th very clear- if you're a foreigner or an alien, you're not entitled to birthright citizenship. In the 138 years since, this has somehow twisted into "if you cross the border and have a child then poof! You're an American."
ETA- forgot the sawce
Sen. Howard’s description of the only class of children born on U.S. soil who would not be U.S. citizens automatically at birth was merely a summary of the widely accepted understanding that children of foreign diplomats would not be birthright citizens. This is because of the legal fiction that diplomats, while physically present here, are sort of floating along in a little bubble of their home country—hence the concept of diplomatic immunity. Sen. Howard used the terms “foreigners” and “aliens” in the sentence quoted above to describe those “who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States.” If Howard were intending to list several categories of excluded persons (e.g., foreigners, aliens or families of diplomats) he could have said so. Instead, the language he used strongly suggests he was describing a single excluded class, limited to families of diplomats.
Thanks for the link.
What is your take on what the author said below in your link about Senator Howard's clause? (bolded for emphasis)
Also, for the record, I think a compelling case for adding conditions to birthright citizenship can be made without having to prove Howard's intent.
Good call…this thread has run its course.Can we get a first 100 days thread or a Trump presidency thread?