[MD Expat in PA]

The 14th Amendment never made anyone a citizen just because they were born on American soil, either

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.

I don’t think the above means what you think it means. Note the very important comma and then the wording that follows: who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers….

What it is saying is that the children of foreign ambassadors or foreign ministers who are born here while their parents are serving another country in that capacity are not born citizens of the United States but that every other person born here is. The same applies to the children of our ambassadors and diplomats and members of our military who are born overseas while their parents are stationed in a foreign country – those children are naturally born US citizens at birth.

[New Jersey Realist]

You are correct in your interpretation. The punctuation is a little confusing and throws people off but one must remember that the transcriber inserts punctuation. The words are the words and read in context with a few sentences prior to that statement quoted the Senator made very clear what he was saying.

[MamaTexan]

include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, 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.

The serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma or Harvard comma, and sometimes referred to as the series comma) is the comma used immediately before a coordinating conjunction (usually and or or, and sometimes nor) preceding the final item in a list of three or more items.

Do they not teach English grammar anymore?

who are foreigners, COMMA

aliens,COMMA

who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.

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That's 3 classifications 1) Foreigner - people here temporarily. 2) Aliens - foreigner's with temporary residency i.e. 'legal' aliens. 3)diplomats.

If, as you suggest, they only meant diplomats, it would have read:

include persons born in the United States 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

But it doesn't.