To: montag813
"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."
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Your interpretation is incorrect.
"People born in the United States but not subject to the jurisdiction thereof" refers to the children of diplomats and their families. Since diplomats have diplomatic immunity they are not subject to the our laws, nor are their children, and therefore they do not get American citizenship just because they are born here.
This is what the people who drafted the amendment intended it to mean. They did not intend it to exclude any child born within the United States except for children of people with diplomatic immunity. Since the day the amendment went into effect it has never been interpreted to exclude any other children born in the United States.
You may feel that children born in the United States to illegal immigrants should not be given citizenship. In order for that to result there will have to be an amendment to the Constitution.
65 posted on
12/08/2006 9:11:07 PM PST by
Cheburashka
(World's only Spatula City certified spatula repair and maintenance specialist!!!)
To: Cheburashka
Since the day the amendment went into effect it has never been interpreted to exclude any other children born in the United States. That's totally 100% false. Up until 1924 when the Indian Citizenship Act was passed, Native Americans born in the United States were not automatically citizens of the United States.
75 posted on
12/08/2006 9:58:52 PM PST by
FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
To: Cheburashka
You may feel that children born in the United States to illegal immigrants should not be given citizenship. In order for that to result there will have to be an amendment to the Constitution. That is not true. Just as Congress could grant citizenship to all Native American tribespeople born in the United States by simply passing a law, Congress can also remove birthright citizenship by simply passing a similar law.
76 posted on
12/08/2006 10:01:51 PM PST by
FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
To: Cheburashka
our interpretation is incorrect. "People born in the United States but not subject to the jurisdiction thereof" refers to the children of diplomats and their families. Since diplomats have diplomatic immunity they are not subject to the our laws, nor are their children, and therefore they do not get American citizenship just because they are born here. Citizens of foreign nations who are in the United States unlawfully are by definition not subject to our jurisdiction. They are here outside the law. There is no legal recognition of their right to be in this nation. The only nation with jurisdiction over them is their country of origin. They are here in legal limbo until they can be returned, and any children they happen to have while in such a state are not American citizens.
Even foreign nationals who are here legally--on student visa for example, are not subject to juristic ion as is an American citizen. They do not have to pay income taxes, for example. Nor do they have to register with Selective Service. They cannot be conscripted into the armed forces. They cannot vote, not stand for office.
This Amendment has been misinterpreted for far too long, and the situation must be corrected.
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