John Yoo: Supreme Court showdown exposes shaky case against birthright citizenship

Fox News ^ | Dec 10, 2025 | John Yoo

[Agatsu77]

This is crap! The 14th was written to ensure that the freed slaves were US citizens. What we have today is a totally made up farce.

[GingisK]

You are correct. That amendment does not have ANY wording that would give credibility to “birthright citizenship”.

[Gasshog]

Well thats just wong, John so F Yoo.

[mass55th]

Exactly!! The 14th Amendment specifically dealt with people who were brought to this country against their free will. Illegals, who of their own free will, break the law to come here, jumping ahead in the line, and walking over the backs of their own countrymen that have been standing in line waiting to enter legally, are not, and should not, nor even their unborn children, be considered qualified for citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The 14th Amendment automatically makes all babies born on American territory citizens.

No.

It doesn't.

[nesnah]

This is the Holy Grail of democrats winning elections.

Get rid of it and they’ll wander the desert for 40 years.

They know that.

[philman_36]

The 14th Amendment automatically makes all babies born on American territory citizens.

The 14th Amendment automatically made all former slaves and indentured servants citizens, nothing more.

What an ignorant man this writer is.

[jacknhoo]

Crock of crap.

Even Native Americans weren’t automatically included in the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship (due to their unique sovereign status) but gained it through the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, making all Native Americans born in the U.S. citizens by federal statute, separate from the amendment’s original scope. While the 14th Amendment intended to grant citizenship to all born in the U.S., it excluded Native Americans as they were seen as members of separate nations, but the 1924 Act resolved this by granting them full citizenship, securing their rights.

[MileHi]

The 14th Amendment automatically makes all babies born on American territory citizens.

That is NOT a foregone conclusion.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Did any of you actually read the whole article?

[Georgia Girl 2]

Actually that’s not what it doesn’t all. 🙄

[CivilWarBrewing]

The term "JURISDICTION THEREOF" is pretty clear to me. If a man and his pregnant wife come over here from a foreign country to see the grand canyon then gives birth while here, SORRY BUT YOUR BABY'S CITIZENSHIP IS OF THE JURISDICTION OF ITS PARENTS !!!

[marktwain]

Even Native Americans weren’t automatically included in the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship (due to their unique sovereign status)

---

Sort of. Their parents were not citizens, therefore they were not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. They were subject to the jurisdiction of their nation. Just the same as parents who are not legally in the USA are not subject to the jurisdiction thereof.

Otherwise, there is no reason to include, “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment.

[packrat35]

This is an important point that many miss.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Exactly right! It really hacks me off that the Dems have twisted the 14th into knots to get anchor babies to win elections.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

And it’s not just illegals. Any pregnant woman can visit the USA, give birth, and her kid is a US citizen. Then, when the kid reaches majority, the whole family can come here. The whole thing is a sordid corruption of common sense.

[The Duke]

The language of the 14th Amendment reads ... "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."

Based on my quick research, the word "naturalized" almost certainly means having gone through a process that confers citizenship (e.g. "application for citizenship" followed by taking the oath of citizenship).

I would like for the 14th to mean otherwise, but it was probably passed at a time when the US needed more headcount.

There is other language in the 14th, however, that nullifies the voting rights of criminals. That should cover all illegal immigrants, and apparently a high percentage of Democrats.

[philman_36]

Correction. He does know the 14th Amendment coce4ned slaves and 9nly slaves.

Birthright Citizenship Is American Citizenship

Instead, the Fourteenth Amendment’s framers sought to correct the most grievous travesty in American constitutional history: slavery and the deprivation of the rights of African-Americans. In Dred Scott v. Sanford, Chief Justice Roger Taney concluded that slaves –even those born in the United States – could never be citizens of the United States. He then turns it on its head... The Fourteenth Amendment directly overruled Dred Scott by declaring that all persons born in the US were citizens. If Dred Scott v. Sanford pertained to slaves, and only slaves, his further comments are contradictory to his earlier comments.

Willful ignorance, not true ignorance.
JMO, YMMV

[escapefromboston]

The amendment was written for former slaves. Applying to anyone else is tenuous at best
The Supreme Court won’t overrule the previous decisions since both parties support the Great Replacement