As the Migrant Caravan invasion has been advancing towards the southern U.S. Border, President Donald Trump has not only ordered the U.S. military to guard the border to deter & prevent the invading caravan from illegally entering the U.S. border but has also issues an executive order ending birthright citizenship for those born without one U.S. citizen parent. This measure is intended to stop the practice of foreign pregnant women from coming to the U.S. to give birth to a baby so that child becomes an automatic U.S. citizen.
In fact, President Trump can in fact end birthright citizenship(not retroactively) through executive order under Article II Clause 5 Take Care/Faithful Execution Clause which allows the President of the United States to used executive orders to settle matters not settled by Congress.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was construed to grant citizenship to "persons subject to the jurisdiction thereof". The main purpose of this major act was to grant citizenship to freed negro slaves just one year after the 13th amendment abolished slavery. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 did not include "Indians not taxed" meaning most Native Americans were not considered citizens until the Indian Citizenship act of 1924.
The 14th Amendment Section One
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. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
"Subject to the jurisdiction thereof" is meant to include freed negro slaves & their descendants. The 14th amendment did not include most Native Americans as they were not "subject to the jurisdiction thereof".
The major landmark U.S. Supreme Court case known as Dred Scott v. Sandford(1857) is credited for the passage of the 13-15th amendments which allowed African-Americans to become citizens. The Dred Scott case ruled that persons of African descent cannot be, nor were ever intended to be citizens under the U.S. constitution, therefor Dred Scott had no legal standing to file suit for his freedom. The Dred Scott case essentially treated most people of African descent as property of their masters.
Dred Scott was a slave who was brought into the state of Illinois & Wisconsin territory who sued for his freedom arguing since he & his wife had lived in these free territories, they should be freed from slavery since slavery in both Illinois & Wisconsin was illegal. The U.S. Supreme Court also ruled Congress could not ban slavery in the U.S. territories & also couldn't free slaves brought into federal territories.
The 14th amendment was meant to supersede this case along with the 13th amendment's abolition of slavery.
Anyways, back to Trump's EO ending birthright citizenship for those born to illegal aliens. My opinion here is Trump has waited a week before the midterm elections so he could galvanize his MAGA base to vote straight GOP as well as having waited until he got Justice Brett Kavanaugh confirmed so Trump's administration wouldn't have his executive order block/struck down by the courts.
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