I am writing this on the eve of the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) hearing a case regarding the 14th Amendment.
Donald Trump wants to abolish birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship has been the de facto interpretation of the 14th Amendment since it was written. Yet today, Donald Trump thinks he knows better than people who have served on this US Supreme court and have ruled on this issue in the past.
Wong Kim Ark
On March 28, 1898, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, holding that children born in the United States, even to parents not eligible to become citizens, were nonetheless citizens themselves under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Trump disagrees with this ruling
Trump’s argument is focused on the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Trump has claimed that undocumented aliens are not subject to the laws of the US and therefore their kids do not gain automatic citizenship when they’re born here.
He’s wrong.
All persons present in the good ole USA are subject to its laws. Hell, Trump has championed this himself in another case.
Laken Riley
We’ve all seen him demonize brown people when he falsely accuses all of us of being criminals. He signed the Laken Riley act which further demonizes criminal acts committed by undocumented persons.
If these undocumented persons were NOT “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” we could not charge them with crimes. But we do, because they are.
There ARE people who are not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Diplomats are one such class.
In such cases, we do NOT have the ability to charge them with crimes. They can literally get “they can get away with murder.”
But that was not the case for Jose Antonio Ibarra. He murdered Riley, was charged, tried, and rightfully convicted for the murder of Laken Riley. As he should have been, because he was “subject to the jurisdiction thereof [the United States]”
Trump v Barbara
Tomorrow, SCOTUS will hear arguments in the Trump v Barbara case. This should be an open and shut case. The language of the 14th amendment is written in plain, simple language:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
Nonetheless, I’m worried.
This SCOTUS has shown us all that the highest court in th3 land is a political instrument subject to the whims of administrations of the party that appointed them. It has bent over backwards, and more, to allow the Trump administration to continue carrying out actions that cleanly violate protections identified in our constitution.
Samuel and Me
An article in today’s New York Times, highlights that Justice Samuel Alito is a first-generation American just like me. The article mentions that he takes great pride in his father being an Italian immigrant and that he’s taken his kids to visit the village in which his father was born.
Yet, I strongly suspect that Justice Alito and the majority of this activist bench will side with the Trump administration on their misinterpreting our Constitution.
I hope I’m wrong.