Diplomats, Aliens, Jurisdiction, and Citizenship
Why Donald Trump's plan to end birthright citizenship doesn't make any sense
Foreword: I don’t claim to be an expert on what I’m writing about. These are just my thoughts based on my understanding. I’m just getting my thoughts out mainly to vent frustration over the next 4 years.
If you live in Virginia, and especially if you have spent time around DC, you’ve probably seen one of these license plates before. Foreign diplomats in the U.S. receive special license plates, symbolizing their immunity under international law. This immunity, common worldwide, exempts them from U.S. jurisdiction unless their home country waives it.
People who have entered the US illegally are still subject to US law. An illegal immigrant who commits a crime in the US can be tried, convicted, imprisoned, and then deported after serving their sentence. Legal aliens, that is - non immigrants in the US on a Visa, and immigrants such as permanent residents, refugees, asylees, etc. are also all subject to US law. If you are a foreigner visiting this country you cannot simply come here and commit crimes and then claim that you are somehow immune to US jurisdiction. Despite this, that is exactly what Donald Trump seems to have declared in his executive order seeking to eliminate birthright citizenship, which states that certain classes of alien are subject to US jurisdiction and do not receive citizenship. The 14th amendment states “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.” I think this is pretty clear. All people born within the borders of the US, who do not owe some sort of allegiance to a home country (e.g. the children of foreign diplomats, soldiers, and officials) are conferred citizenship at birth.
Let’s be clear - Donald Trump knows that the US can punish aliens for any crimes committed in the US. His recent executive order requires the US government to seek the death penalty in all qualifying crimes committed by people who reside in the US illegally. This attempt to end birthright citizenship by claiming that aliens are not subject to US jurisdiction seems farcical at best. Even with the current makeup of the Supreme Court, I can’t really foresee any way that the Trump admin will be able to convince them to overturn United States v. Wong Kim Ark, decided nearly 130 years ago, a case in which the plaintiff gained citizenship in nearly the exact same scenario that Donald Trump seeks to prevent.
