Birthright citizenship has been a significant topic of debate, but a deep dive into the Constitution and the history behind it reveals a clear legal framework. The conversation around this issue often focuses on the concept of birthright citizenship, its origins, and why it is a fundamental part of U.S. law.

14th Amendment. This amendment was a direct response to the Supreme Court’s “horrific” Dred Scott decision, which ruled that a Black man living in a free state, who was born to a slave, was not a citizen and had no rights that a white man was bound to respect. The 14th Amendment was introduced by Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan and passed Congress with strong Republican support, with every opposing vote coming from Democrats.

The key clause of the amendment states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States”. The drafters of the amendment, including Senator Howard and Senator Lyman Trumbull, intended for this to apply to “every person born within the limits of the United States”.

The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” is crucial to understanding the amendment’s intent. According to Senator Trumbull, this phrase was meant to exclude two specific groups: foreign diplomats and enemy combatants. It does not, however, exclude children of immigrants, even those who came to the country illegally. The drafters of the amendment were aware of significant immigration, both legal and illegal, occurring at the time of its passage in 1868 but chose not to include an exclusion for the children of immigrants.

Being “subject to the jurisdiction” simply means that an individual is subject to the laws of the land. An illegal immigrant is still subject to U.S. laws; they can be arrested, tried for crimes, and deported, which proves they are under the jurisdiction of the United States.

The Constitution was designed to be a safeguard against populism. The staggered terms of the Senate and the two-year election cycle of the House of Representatives were set up to ensure that the government represents the needs of both the present and the future, preventing a popular but potentially harmful movement from taking away individual rights. As a conservative, an individual believes that the law and Constitution are “colorblind” and that individual liberties should not be taken away due to popular opinion.

Enforcing laws is not “inhumane” but rather a necessary measure to preserve the order and structure of a society. While it may seem “inhumane” to separate families, the law holds that a child’s American citizenship does not automatically grant the same status to their parents. The parents, by their actions, are responsible for their potential separation from their families, just as a person who commits a crime and is sent to prison is responsible for being separated from their family