The Fourteenth Amendment says: “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.” Advocates of birthright citizenship say that the restriction “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means that the children of foreign diplomats or agents born here are not citizens. True, but why does it have to just refer to those children? No other options are even entertained. It is just these children and that’s the end of the conversation. An “anchor baby” whose mother just came from Mexico so she could have her baby on U.S. soil is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States anymore than his mother is, or is he and her? I am open to being schooled or criticized. And I would also say that this is a separate issue from that of the question of whether there should be open borders. One could be an advocate of open borders and an opponent of birthright citizenship.
11:00 am on September 4, 2015