President-elect Donald Trump has once again promised to “end birthright citizenship” for the U.S.-born children of illegal and nonimmigrant aliens.
But can he do this without amending the Constitution?
Yes, he can—at least according to the original meaning of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which, as I explained at great length in an earlier law review article and a pair of Heritage Foundation Legal Memos, is far different from the interpretation offered by most modern scholars.
It’s certainly true that today, the mistaken majority view of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause is that it grants what essentially amounts to universal birthright citizenship—in other words, that virtually all children born within the geographical boundaries of the United States are citizens, irrespective of their parents’ immigration status.
It’s also true that the federal government has been abiding by a policy of treating the U.S.-born children of illegal and nonimmigrant aliens as citizens, even though it is not required and is a change from the way the 14th Amendment was applied after it was ratified in July 1868. […]
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